UCSD Medical Center

The past year has seen several milestones at the University of California, San Diego, Medical Center in the realm of information technology. Finishing a process that began with the first implementation of computerized provider order entry back in 2003, our teams have been able to close the medication administration loop with the added safety benefit of bar-coded medication administration and online medication administration charting. Using the MAK (Medication Administration Check, Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA) tool, our nurses now check the order against the patient with each administration. This ensures our validation of the “five rights”: right dose, right frequency, right time, right medication, right patient. Our physician providers benefit along with the patients, as each administration is also recorded in our inpatient electronic medical record, giving our medical staff up-to-date medication dosing at their fingertips.

In another exciting development, the senior management team of the medical center and the executive leadership of UCSD Health Sciences have decided to expand the current relationship with Epic Systems Corporation (Verona, WI) to include the inpatient electronic medical record, pharmacy, comprehensive oncology care, and comprehensive peri-natal care. Building on our current full deployment of CPOE and closed-loop medication administration, this will mean that over the next three years, the medical center will transition its current implementation of the comprehensive EpicCare Hyperspace ambulatory EMR into the full continuum of care across the medical center. Our physician staff, nurses, and patients will have the entire cycle of care in one application and will be able to more effectively render care at key junction points in the health process. The additional side benefit of this comprehensive application is the evolution of our enterprise-wide clinical data warehouse, which is already being utilized to better understand our patient population and promote additional clinical quality at the medical center.

In order to empower patients in their own healthcare, the medical center is also excited to announce the launch of “MyUCSDChart,” a secure patient portal that allows patients to review their current health history, their medications, and their preventative healthcare milestones online through a secure web portal. As well, the patients can securely message their providers regarding non-urgent health concerns, request refills, and request appointments all from one portal. We are in the midst of a very successful pilot at our Scripps Ranch location and look forward to disseminating this across the enterprise in the coming year. It has been a banner year for both patients and providers and we look forward to additional milestones in the coming year.