Opening what promises to be a portal to the future, the Congenital Heart Institute (CHI) at Miami Children’s Hospital has become one of the first healthcare programs in the nation to offer patient families access to an electronic medical record, providing a secure source of detailed information that families can refer to and make available in the future to physicians who become involved in their child’s care.
CHI’s new Electronic Medical Record Portal for Patients was developed by Teges Corporation – a leader in the development of web-based information systems – and Miami Children’s Hospital (MCH) in response to requests from parents of CHI surgical patients. The portal offers families a wealth of secure information related to the child’s hospitalization, including surgical photos, details of the child’s condition upon arrival, a discharge summary and care instructions.
“Parents today are more sophisticated than ever,” said Redmond P. Burke, MD, Director of the MCH Division of Cardiovascular Surgery. “Today’s families utilize the internet to learn everything they can about their child’s condition and seek out the best possible care team. Once they leave the hospital, they want access to all available information. We are pleased to offer our electronic medical record service as an extension of our commitment to the ongoing well being of the child and family.”
“Patients come to us from locations around the world,” Dr. Burke added. “They feel more confident going back home knowing they have immediate access to details of their child’s medical record so that tomorrow or years from now, they can share the information with a caregiver to offer the best possible insight into the care needs of the child.”
Miami Children’s Hospital and the Congenital Heart Institute have been leaders in the use of electronic medical records, serving as a beta site for Teges’ i-Rounds™ Integrated Clinical Information System. This secure patient data system enables physicians, nurses and other caregivers to view clinicians’ notes, lab results, bedside monitors and photos and other data in real time from a single screen. Thus, CHI physicians, who now serve children at both Miami Children’s Hospital and Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, are able to be actively engaged in the care of patients at both campuses, at all times.
At the request of Dr. Burke, Teges Corporation worked with MCH to develop the i-Rounds Electronic Medical Record Portal for Patients. At any time after discharge, CHI surgical patients can enter the portal and receive password-protected access to the following information derived from the hospital’s i-Rounds Integrated Clinical Information System: the child’s history and CHI admission examination information, images of the heart taken before, during and after surgery; photos of the child taken during hospitalization to document care progress; as well as the hospital discharge report and patient care instructions.
A separate record is maintained for patients for each hospital admission and individual records can be accessed from the portal by clicking on the desired admissions date.
To ensure maximum privacy for patients, access to the portal is limited by a strong password policy and transactions are secured by the latest 128-bit encryption technology. No records are retained on the user’s device so that information is not compromised should a PC, laptop, or PDA be tampered with, lost or stolen.
Christine White, President and CEO of Teges Corporation, said, “There has been much buzz in the Web-based medical records technology field about patient accessible electronic medical records. We expect a steep rise in availability of this type of technology in the years ahead as patient demand prompts more hospitals to offer the service to patients.”
About the Congenital Heart Institute
The Congenital Heart Institute at Miami Children’s Hospital and Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children (Orlando, Florida) is an international leader in the care of children with congenital heart disease. The CHI offers the latest interventional and surgical techniques and maintains patient survival rates of 99 percent – among the best in the world.
About Miami Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1950, Miami Children's Hospital is the only licensed specialty hospital for children in South Florida. Ranked Miami-Dade County’s “Best Pediatric Hospital” by South Florida Parenting Magazine, Miami Children's Hospital offers medical care and services for children from birth to age 21. The 268-bed medical facility has expertise in all aspects of pediatric medicine.
About Teges Corporation
Teges Corporation is a leader in the development of Web-based information systems that allow physicians, nurses, and other healthcare personnel to track all aspects of patient care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), with Web pages that can be accessed via an Intranet or the Internet.
About Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Where Children Matter Most (2024)
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is South
Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with approximately
850 attending physicians, including more than 500 pediatric subspecialists. The 307-bed
hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with many specialty programs
routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. The
hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern
United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing
Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional
honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.