MT Health System Implements Cloud Platform to Unify EHR Data

Montana-based nonprofit health system St. Peter’s Health is partnering with San Francisco-based healthcare technology company Innovaccer to integrate the company’s healthcare cloud platform into care sites to improve care management.

St. Peter’s Health is comprised of more than 100 providers, a 99-bed acute care hospital, physician and urgent care clinics, home health and hospice facilities, ambulance services, cancer treatment sites, and other ambulatory service lines serving the Helena, Montana area.

The health system is looking to move to unified patient records, and to do so, it must unify data from multiple, disparate EHR systems.

“Transforming our legacy EHR data into unified patient records is an important step in enhancing access, patient engagement, and care management, as it builds on our strong foundation of patient-centered services,” said Ryan Winn, chief information officer at St. Peter’s Health, in the press release. “Our partnership with Innovaccer is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to provide the gold standard for exceptional care to our community.”

The health system will implement the Innovaccer Health Cloud’s Data Activation Platform to support this unification process. The platform will allow St. Peter’s Health to unify data from legacy EHR systems into one solution, which aims to provide actionable clinical information at point-of-care. Because patient data will be unified, the solution will also support care management across the health system and its care sites by simplifying tasks, bridging coding gaps, and improving workflows. The platform is also designed to provide data insights that can support provider-patient collaboration.

Cloud technology adoption is a growing trend in healthcare, but organizations considering moving to the cloud should be aware of the challenges involved and utilize best practices.

A report published late last month by Forrester outlines multiple trends in healthcare’s adoption of cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, and Software as a Service, with a particular focus on the best practices and challenges.

When choosing between on-premises EHR systems and various cloud platforms, or opting for a hybrid healthcare data storage model, health systems must consider what kinds of digital engagement, data management, and workflow optimization goals they would like to achieve.

For example, goals around HIPAA compliance are a major factor when choosing a cloud provider. US organizations are required to be HIPAA compliant, so many cloud vendors state that their services are 'HIPAA ready.' However, 'HIPAA ready' does not necessarily mean that these services can automate HIPAA compliance. Rather, customers can achieve HIPAA compliance by utilizing the service.

This has the potential to open organizations up to data breaches or HIPAA violations if they do not fully understand the service provider’s definition of 'HIPAA ready.'

The report outlined multiple strategies to combat some of these issues, including partnering with a cloud provider that is experienced in both healthcare and technology.

Further, to make cloud adoption easier, the report recommends that organizations invest in a culture of transformation around cloud skills and innovations.