LSU Health launches electronic health records system

The LSU Health System says it’s become the first statewide public health care network in the United States to deploy electronic health records at its hospitals and physician clinics, having replaced paper records with iPads and touchscreens at LSU Health Shreveport this week. Dubbed PELICAN—for Patient Electronic Health Information and Care Network—the transition to digital records marks the end of using traditional paper charts and the beginning of what the system is calling “one patient, one chart.” With a keystroke, medical staff at an LSU Health facility can now quickly and securely access any LSU patient record. Medication allergies, potential interactions, dosage concerns and other flags will pop up to ensure safe treatment. With all results kept in one electronic file, duplication of medical tests can be virtually eliminated. LSU began studying electronic health records as many as 10 years ago, and planning began in 2006. Acquiring $86 million in federal stimulus funds and $33 million in state funding enabled the system to get PELICAN off the ground. Going digital required more than 3,200 LSU Health workers to undergo thousands of hours of training to create the electronic infrastructure essential to supporting the system and implementing the new technology. Initial deployment of PELICAN covers LSU Health hospitals and clinics in north Louisiana. Hospitals and clinics in south Louisiana are scheduled to be connected to the system over the next 18 months. According to a joint study by LSU the Louisiana State Medical Society released Wednesday, Louisiana physicians generally aren’t embracing electronic medical records despite incentives and potential penalties.