by Donna Padgette, R.N. MSN, Program Nurse Specialist Patient Care Systems

When Phyllis Miehe was given the task of re trieving several hundred operative notes, she knew she had her work cut out for her. Providing documentation for professional organizations can mean plowing through an avalanche of paper.

There'd be time spent locating the proper medical records and selecting the appropriate operative notes. Then more time photocopying the needed documents.

Phyllis, an administrative assistant in the Department of Ophthalmalogy, instead considered an approach that enabled her to perform each of those functions using one resource: Oacis, MUSC's clinical information system.

What could have been at least a day's work was accomplished in just a few hours!

Oacis is a central component of Emerald, MUSC'S Electronic Medical Record project. Though different clinical environments have specific needs for which different computer programs are used, Oacis acts as a link to provide the user with a single source that keeps data from the various hospital information systems.

The information Phyllis needed is in the Oacis Data Repository, a database that stores patient clinical data from ancillary systems such as lab and radiology as well as transcription and text reports. Oacis gives the MUSC clinician access to a wide range of medical notes, thanks to specially developed tools that allow medical transcriptionists to transmit notes into the Oacis Data Repository.

In addition to operative notes, discharge and transfer summaries, and Cancer Clinic notes that have been available since Oacis was launched in 1993, transcribed reports from many services and departments have been added and continue to be added, including Emergency Care and Transplant Surgery reports.

Though Oacis is not readily available on all units at this time, rollout of ClinLAN95 (completion projected for October '99) will enable full deployment of the system.

Oacis provides up-to-date information

The abundance of easily accessible information provides Lisa Swatzyna with a valuable tool for triage in her role as clinical care coordinator for the Pediatric Orthopedic Clinic.

In response to such calls, Lisa assembles a current, comprehensive background on the patient so as to handle calls accurately, effectively and efficiently. Though the most recent office notes are not always available on the patient's paper medical record and the recorded history may have gaps, Oacis provides an easily accessible method of retrieving the most complete and up to date information on the patient.

Lisa also utilizes this helpful resource to insure that physicians in the clinic have the necessary information on their patients. She considers Oacis such an integral component that she relies on it for all patient information needs, having banished StatLAN from the area!

The information contained in the Oacis Data Repository is presented in an organized, summarized manner via the Clinical Display. The Clinical Display allows the clinician to view more detail as desired and is structured so that patient and clinical data is intuitively and easily accessible. A list of patients with time-summarized clinical information, called a roster, may be manipulated to show patients and data that are relevant to a specific area of practice.

Oacis used for one-stop shopping

When clinical care coordinator Ann Henning prepares for patient visits in the Pediatric ENT Clinic, she does her homework before patients arrive by constructing a customized roster containing a clinic's scheduled patients for the day.

This roster can be shared among the clinic personnel to allow ready access to the information within Oacis, such as laboratory test results and pathology findings.

Whatever the reason for the clinic visit, information retrieved from Oacis is beneficial: an operative note when the visit is a follow-up to surgery, a discharge summary when the visit occurs after hospitalization, or emergency room notes when the patient's visit is a referral resulting from an ER encounter. This “one-stop shopping” avoids the scavenger hunt that a search for information can become.

Learn more about Oacis

Oacis offers myriad options to reduce your papercuts and enhance your practice. If you'd like to learn more about Oacis and the Electronic Medical Record project, check out the Emerald website at http://emerald.musc.edu/or drop an e-mail to Donna Padgette or Michael Irving to discover how Oacis can help you do your job.