Guadalupe County Hospital Achieves HIMSS Analytics Stage 6 Status

SANTA ROSA, N.M. & CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Medsphere Systems Corporation today congratulated customer and partner Guadalupe County Hospital on becoming a Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics Stage 6 hospital. The second highest level of the HIMSS Analytics’ Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM), Stage 6 requirements include the demonstrated use of electronic physician documentation, clinical decision support, computerized provider order entry and closed-loop medication administration, among other clinical support tools.

“When you consider the size, location and resource constraints Guadalupe is working with, this is certainly a significant accomplishment. It’s also a testament to the fact that technology-enabled improvements in patient care are available to just about any hospital with the necessary will and vision.”

The designation puts Guadalupe in an elite minority; only about 8.5 percent of American hospitals have qualified for HIMSS Analytics Stage 6, according to the organization. As one of the smallest Stage 6 hospitals, Guadalupe is representative of thousands of similar healthcare facilities nationwide that live close to the financial margins and still manage to provide crucial local healthcare services.

“I want to offer our most sincere congratulations to hospital CEO Christina Campos and her staff for meeting Stage 6 requirements. They are the ones who made this happen,” said Medsphere President and CEO Irv Lichtenwald. “When you consider the size, location and resource constraints Guadalupe is working with, this is certainly a significant accomplishment. It’s also a testament to the fact that technology-enabled improvements in patient care are available to just about any hospital with the necessary will and vision.”

Before and since going live with Medsphere’s OpenVista® electronic health record (EHR) in June of last year, Guadalupe and Medsphere have actively collaborated on several training, workflow redesign and clinical transformation initiatives. Through these efforts, Guadalupe qualified for federal Meaningful Use Stage 1 funds in November.

“HIMSS Analytics Stage 6 status is external validation of the tremendous work the clinicians and staff have done here at Guadalupe,” said Campos. “I would be no less proud of the commitment they’ve made without it, but I appreciate confirmation of improvements in patient care and a more efficient workplace. Our partnership with Medsphere is just that, and it has created better healthcare for our patients at a cost we can afford, which is saying something, really.”

Guadalupe follows in the footsteps of Medsphere customer and partner Midland Memorial Hospital. Midland was one of the first 11 hospitals in the United States to meet HIMSS Analytics Stage 6 requirements, doing so for roughly one-third the average cost of the other 10 hospitals and in about half the average time.

About Guadalupe County Hospital

Guadalupe County Hospital is a general medical facility providing adult and pediatric care. With a full-time staff of 45, including administrative staff, this 10-bed acute care hospital handles roughly 250 admissions and 2,500 emergency room visits per year. Located in Santa Rosa, N.M., 117 miles east of Albuquerque on Interstate 40, Guadalupe serves the entire county of fewer than 4700 people.

About Medsphere and OpenVista

Founded in 2002 and based in Carlsbad, Calif., Medsphere Systems Corporation is an award-winning organization of clinical and technology professionals working to make quality health IT solutions accessible to organizations of virtually any size, shape or budget. Medsphere’s OpenVista is a portfolio of clinical support products and professional services that leverages an electronic health record (EHR) system developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This VistA EHR is widely credited with helping transform the VA into the nation's most efficient and clinically effective healthcare organization. OpenVista, the most fully commercialized VistA offspring, is a responsible reapplication of the VA’s $8.5 billion investment, which recent studies show have yielded $3.09 billion in benefits, primarily from the near elimination of medication administration issues and duplicate testing.

Medsphere’s subscription-based pricing model enables hospital, clinic and integrated delivery network customers to pay for OpenVista from their operating budget with no upfront costs or back-end balloon payments. Expert implementation and other services facilitate fluid and rapid transition to a paperless clinical environment focusing on best practices and evidence-based medicine in six to nine months. Medsphere also actively nurtures the Healthcare Open Source Ecosystem, a global community of customers, partners, developers and other online collaborators who drive OpenVista innovation, and provide a parallel development and support structure.

Learn more about Medsphere’s OpenVista at www.medsphere.com.