SSM Health Care is undertaking a $330 million transformation – from paper medical records to an electronic health record (EHR). The new EHR allows caregivers access to patient information at any time, from anywhere.

 View a slideshow and feature by BusinessWeek featuring some of the "most wired" hospitals in the country, including SSM facilities. SSM is among the top U.S. hospitals for EHR adoption.

Play EHR Video

Watch May 31, 2008 "go live" of EHR at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, Wis.

Dr. Jay Moore's office was the first SSM physician's office to go live with EHR. Listen to his interview on SSM's online radio show Up Close.

Patients can expect safer, faster care and more convenience in our hospitals in Wisconsin and St. Louis. Find out how EHR benefits patients and caregivers. Learn more about the patient-friendly MyChart now available for St. Louis-area patients. EHR launched in October 2011 at St. Anthony Hospital and Bone and Joint Hospital at St. Anthony in Oklahoma City.

SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis, Mo., was the first SSM hospital to go live with EHR in March 2008. You can read about and watch a video from the launch at SSM St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, Mo., on December 6, 2008.

"The long-term benefits of the electronic health record will be recognized at every level of SSM Health Care and, most importantly, by every patient who visits one of our hospitals," said Tom Langston, SSM Health Care chief information officer, of "Project Beacon." (Click here to learn more about SSM Integrated Health Technologies.)

More than 100 full-time staff have been dedicated to the project and more than 1,000 clinicians have been involved in the design. When the clinical portion of the project wraps up in 2012, EHR will be available on more than 13,000 computers at SSM facilities in Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma. Physicians will also be able to access the system through a secure, web portal from any Internet-capable computer.

EHR Fast Facts:

• Doctors and nurses will have instant computer access to patient information no matter the caregiver’s location, eliminating reliance on paper records and saving precious time.
• The EHR will be secure, meaning only medical personnel involved in treatment can access the information.
• The EHR will automatically cross-check medications against other prescribed drugs, diagnoses and lab results, and suggest possible changes in treatment.
• The EHR will offer enormous savings in the use and cost of paper.