Athens (Ga.) Regional Health System CIO Gretchen Tegethoff has resigned in the wake of a troubled electronic health record implementation, according to an Athens Banner-Herald report.
Her resignation comes less than a week after the resignation of CEO James Thaw. Both executives have now stepped down in the wake of a Cerner rollout that sparked concern over patient safety issues.
On May 5, Athens Regional announced the launch of the Cerner EHR. Less than two weeks later, clinician leaders, including the president and vice president of the medical staff at Athens Regional and the surgery department chair, wrote a letter to Mr. Thaw and Ms. Tegethoff, alleging the system was compromising patient safety, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
According to the physicians' letter, the EHR had led to "medication errors ... orders being lost or overlooked ... (emergency department) patients leaving after long waits; and of an inpatient who wasn't seen by a physician for (five) days," according to a snippet of the letter quoted in theBanner-Herald.
At a meeting of the hospital's board of trustees meeting May 22, Mr. Thaw received a vote of no confidence from the hospital's medical staff, according to a report in the Athens Flagpole. His resignation was announced May 23.
Athens Regional has not directly linked the Cerner troubles with either Mr. Thaw's or Ms. Tegethoff's resignation in any public material. The health system could not be reached for comment.
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