Implementation of an enterprise-wide Electronic Health Record: a nurse-physician partnership

Maimonides Medical Center (MMC), a 705-bed tertiary hospital located in Brooklyn, New York, is a not-for-profit, voluntary hospital and the third largest independent teaching hospital in the United States. Its strategic plan includes research and academic initiatives, specifically, physician and nursing leadership development and a nursing scholarship program. In 1996 executive management allocated resources for the development of an information technology environment to improve the quality of care, increase patient satisfaction, reduce costs, and position the hospital for future growth initiatives, all accomplished through the use of an Electronic Health Record (EHR). The result was the Maimonides Access Clinical System (MACS) that has transformed the delivery of health care throughout MMC and serves as a model for other US hospitals. In addition, since 2007, MMC has also participated in the Brooklyn Health Information Exchange (BHIX) a New York State HEAL grant initiative implementing a Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO), an exchange of clinical information between Brooklyn hospitals, nursing homes, and home health agencies that aids in the transition of care for its shared patients.