Athens (Ga.) Regional Health System CEO James Thaw has resigned. His resignation follows clinician and staff complaints about a new Cerner electronic health record system, according to an Athens Banner-Herald report.
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 CIO Gretchen Tegethoff, expressing patient safety concerns related to the new system, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
Concerns included "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 the Banner-Herald.
Mr. Thaw responded quickly to the complaints, saying "swift action" would be taken, according to the report.
"Providing outstanding patient care is first and foremost in our minds at Athens Regional, and we have dedicated staff throughout the hospital to make sure the system is functioning as smoothly as possible through this transition," Mr. Thaw said, according to the report.
Athens Regional has not directly linked the Cerner troubles with Mr. Thaw's resignation in any public material. The health system could not be reached for comment.
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