Hospital plans to use Regional Health EMR system
Officials at Weston County Health Services have never been completely satisfied with the Cerner electronic medical records system the hospital has been using, or with the support they’ve received from Billings Clinic in dealing with a number of issues that have continued to crop up since the system was implemented four years ago.
The five year contract signed with Billings Clinic to provide the Cerner program and accompanying technical support will expire in June of 2018, and it appears all but certain that the local hospital will not be extending that contract after the WCHS board agreed at their meeting last month to change to the “Epic” program that is offered by Regional Health in Rapid City.
“The board made the determination that they want to commit to looking at and working with Regional Health to transition to Epic,” Chief Executive Officer Maureen Cadwell told the News Letter Journal. The board’s decision will not be official until contingencies are worked out and a formal agreement is signed, but the facility can be ready to “go-live” with Epic when the contract with Billings Clinic ends.