In January 2002 staff and doctors within the department of Medicine began using a new system. The E3, electronic by 2003, project allows physicians and staff to process paperwork on a computer network. From office computers and other locations, a patient’s record can be accessed through a web server. All the previously mentioned messages, notes, orders, and etcetera can be processed without paper. E3 also connects and aligns with Vanderbilt’s clinical improvement program in an effort to improve operations throughout the University Medical Center.

Dr. Jim Jirjis, assistant professor of Medicine and medical director of the clinic, and Dario Giuse, Ph.D., associate professor of Biomedical

The idea of “going paperless” was not only one of efficiency, but also cost cutting. With a paperless system, Vanderbilt has the opportunity to begin reducing clinical record-keeping costs. Many hours are spent managing patient records, assembly, transport, and retrieval. The cost reduction will be achieved through labor cuts as well as decreasing paper supplies. The projected labor savings is approximately $1.7 million per fiscal year and the project will save additional millions in future years.

In order to manage this technology and change, Marilyn Dubree, Chief Nursing Officer, and Dr. C. Wright Pinson, professor of Surgery and Chief of Staff have been appointed co-leaders. The co-leaders, along with the help of Vanderbilt’s Department of Information Sciences will track the flow of the project through completion.

In less than a few seconds, StarPanel can access a multitude of information and allow the decision making process become more efficient. This process truly makes StarPanel indispensable and invaluable. The immediate benefit is that physicians and staff no longer need to request records and shuffle through stacks of paper to find patient information. A new route to creating patient registries and measuring practice improvement has emerged.

For several years, Vanderbilt has used computer applications such as StarChart. The first step for E3 and going paperless was to convert StarC

Some topics in this essay:
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