Coos Bay, Ore.-based Bay Area Hospital is teaming up with St. Charles Health System in Bend, Ore., to provide an integrated Epic EHR system for the organizations' clinicians and patients.
Bay Area Hospital, in addition to Bay Clinic, North Bend Medical Center and Advanced Health, all located in Coos Bay, operate under the name of the South Coast Ecosystem.
The collaborative organization will begin preparation and training this summer to transition St. Charles' Epic EHR system, according to NBC affiliate KMTR. South Coast Ecosystem expects to go live on the EHR next year.
By switching to Epic, South Coast Ecosystem will replace its multiple EHR systems with a single, integrated platform.
"There are times when patients need to leave the community for a higher level of care," Bay Area Hospital president and CEO Brian Moore told the network. "With Epic, their information will be available in those locations and when they come back here to see their local physician, the information about the treatment that they received out of the area will be available for their local care team."
South Coast Ecosystem chose St. Charles as its Epic Community Connect partner in December, according to a news release. The organization cited St. Charles' detailed proposal, which includes staffing, governance and support for all three EHR implementation Phase One participants, as its deciding factor for the partnership.