Healthcare Technology Featured Article

January 21, 2013

Merge Hemo Making Electronic Health Records Easier for Cardiac Cath Labs


Rex Hospital in Raleigh, N.C., is a member of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill network of hospitals. Like all hospitals coping with the Affordable Care Act, Rex Hospital is making the transition to electronic health records (EHRs).

Thanks to a product called Merge Hemo, produced by Merge Healthcare, Inc., Rex Hospital will be tying its cardiac catheter lab to its patients’ EHRs. Essentially, Merge Hemo provides a single Web-based view of a patient’s cardiac cath records so that physicians can access patient data from any location. The interface is touch-based, with automated reporting and data collection.

Merge Hemo compiles data for all of the patients in a lab on a single screen that both physicians and technicians can update by using an electronic whiteboard. The screen will capture both pre-holding and post-holding data for a complete picture of the patient.

In addition to real-time patient monitoring tools that include Apnea, Pleth, EtCO2, SPO2 and integrated FFR, Merge Hemo provides pre-populated physicians’ reports so that doctors can see hemodynamic data at a glance. Additionally, technicians and doctors can use the touchscreen to drag and drop data into a time-stamped patient log.

Hospitals can combine Merge Hemo with Merge Cardio for a complete cardiology solution suite. The suite integrates all cardiac information within a patient’s EHR.

“As we evaluated the options, we selected Merge Hemo because of the workflow efficiencies it offered,” stated Tom Hasley, who is the director of Clinical Systems for Heart and Vascular Services at Rex Hospital. “The ease of use, simplified touch-screen interface and ability to reduce manual entry of data will allow us to deliver the best possible care in the most efficient fashion.”

According to Diane Massa, the director of Heart and Vascular Services, the hospital’s cardiac volume has grown by 20 percent annually for the past several years. Because they expect similar growth to continue, Rex looked for a solution that would allow for future expansion. They eventually plan to sync operations over a total of seven heart, vascular and interventional radiology labs.

CEO Jeff Surges of Merge Healthcare expressed optimism about Merge Hemo. “We have worked diligently to ensure Merge Hemo provides seamless EHR integration, enhances workflow and reporting and provides quality patient care,” said Surges in a statement.




Edited by Brooke Neuman
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