LOOK AHEAD: Carolinas Hospital System in good shape

Carolinas Hospital System plans to continue moving forward with the momentum it has built up in 2008, chief executive officer Jim O’Loughlin said.

“The hospital is completing a very successful year,” he said. “Today we are able to compare our results with others across the state and country. We also look at (our progress) in terms of satisfaction scores. In each of those areas we have done well.”

He said the hospital also is doing well from a financial standpoint.

O’Loughlin said one of the major projects for the hospital in 2008 was completion of the endo-vascular suite for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease.

He said not only is the suite completed, but it is staffed with an excellent team of people.

As the hospital moves into the coming year, there are many continued additions in store, O’Loughlin said.

“We are looking at continuing to invest in new technology,” he said. “In 2009, we expect to replace one of our cardiac catherization labs. That’s about a $2 million investment.”

O’Loughlin said Carolinas also will be adding digital mammography to their menu of services offered on-site.

“And we’ll continue to recruit new physicians in areas where there is a shortage of certain specialties,” he said.

Dr. William Cauthen, director of emergency medicine and the emergency department at the hospital, said his department plans to put their recent transition to computerized documentation to good use in the coming year.

“We’ve transitioned to a computerized documentation and information management system so that everything is computerized — from the nursing records to the physician records, everything is done electronically,” he said.

Cauthen said making the switch has made the emergency department run smoother than ever.

“It’s allowed us to pull and have previous medications and past medical history stored within the system,” he said.

The electronic file system allows the hospital to keep clearer, more concise records as well as being able to access those records quickly and easily.

“It allows us to document in real time and see graphically what tests have been completed and when the tests are done,” Cauthen said. “It allows us to have a complete, accurate medical record available for any patient, whether they are an admission, a discharge or a transfer.”

Although patients will likely notice shorter wait times from the emergency room, they won’t notice much else about the new system, other than the fact that it is working for the hospital, Cauthen said.

“It’s fairly invisible for the patient,” he said. “Their wait times are decreased and there is less chance of medical error since everything is computerized.”

But, O’Loughlin cautioned, it could be some time before the entire facility joins the e-generation.

“We won’t be ready in 2009,” he said of the system. “It has worked reasonably well in the ER, but there is still some work to be done before we roll it out for the entire facility.”