MEDITECH Customers Highlight Real-World Impact of Connected Care at MEDITECH LIVE

CANTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week at the MEDITECH LIVE leadership summit, healthcare organizations using MEDITECH's Traverse Exchange interoperability network highlighted significant benefits gained since implementing the network’s new Consolidated Patient Summary.

MEDITECH customers highlight the real-world impact of connected care at MEDITECH LIVE, including faster access to critical patient information to reduce duplicate testing and support more informed clinical decisions. #MEDITECHLIVE #Interoperability

Share

Unveiled at last year's summit, the enhanced workflow has seen swift adoption among clinicians, providing care teams with faster access to critical patient information, reducing duplicate testing, and supporting more informed clinical decisions. The network now provides access to health information for more than 43 million patients nationwide.

Customers highlighted how the new advancements support care decisions — particularly in time-sensitive settings such as the emergency department — by enabling clinicians to access a consolidated view of external patient information captured from across health systems within their natural workflows.

Traverse Exchange currently connects more than 800 MEDITECH facilities across 200 organizations. The network spans 45 states/U.S. territories and has facilitated the exchange of more than 430 million clinical documents. It continues to expand as healthcare organizations increasingly rely on interoperable access to patient information across care settings.

"One of the most common things we hear from clinicians is that they don't want to spend time searching for information that already exists somewhere else," said MEDITECH Senior Director of Interoperability Mike Cordeiro.

"What stands out in these customer stories is how quickly providers can find the information they need and put it to use. Whether it's helping determine a patient's next step in the emergency department or providing additional context for treatment decisions, having that information available makes a real difference."

Faster Clinical Decisions When Time Matters

For emergency department clinicians, timely access to external patient records can help accelerate treatment decisions, reduce information gaps, and improve care coordination.

At Ozarks Healthcare (West Plains, MO), Chief Medical Information Officer & Chief of Staff Priscilla A. Frase, MD was in the midst of onboarding physicians on the new Consolidated Patient Summary when she witnessed its immediate impact.

“We had a patient boarding in the ED whose disposition was challenging to determine, and the provider needed information from another facility,” she explained. “Within five minutes of giving that provider access, he was able to get the records from the exact hospital and specialist he needed in another state and make the disposition plans."

Dr. Frase also recounted the compelling story of a patient who showed subtle signs of an underlying cardiac condition. After talking with the patient and reviewing external sources through Traverse Exchange — including medication changes and recent primary care and specialist visits from offices that were two hours away— she recommended a focused cardiac intervention, which revealed a critical, previously undetected blockage. The patient credits her with saving their life.

At Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, Indiana, clinicians access external patient information for more than 75 percent of emergency department arrivals, according to Vice President & Chief Information Officer Craig Rice.

"When providers can see tests that were recently completed elsewhere, they often don't need to repeat them," said Rice. "That saves time, avoids unnecessary testing, reduces costs, and helps clinicians make more informed decisions."

Improving the Patient Experience

Health systems are also recognizing the positive impact Traverse Exchange is having on patients, who increasingly expect their healthcare providers to have a complete understanding of their medical history regardless of where care was previously delivered.

“Patients feel they are important because I’m taking the time to look into their previous health data,” says Andrea Douglas, a family practice physician assistant at Emanate Health (Covina, CA). “It’s valuable to me, and the patients themselves feel valued.”

Douglas recalled a follow-up visit with a patient who had recently received treatment for uncontrolled diabetes at an outside hospital.

“It can be difficult to obtain records from this facility, and the patient is often a challenging historian,” she said. “But I was able to use Traverse Exchange to see the other organization’s discharge summary and provide a better treatment plan based on those records.”

At Pella Regional Medical Center in Pella, Iowa, Chief Medical Information Officer & Clinic Medical Director Doug Kanis, DO, cited speed of access as one of the network's greatest benefits.

“A heart failure patient drove to my clinic on his way home to Missouri, right after he got an echocardiogram in Des Moines,” he said. “Using Traverse Exchange I retrieved his ejection fraction results just an hour after his test. This rapid access provided the anxious patient and his wife with immediate peace of mind before they drove the rest of the way home.”

Expanding Access to Connected Care

With more than 43 million patients represented in its Master Patient Index, Traverse Exchange continues to expand through broader connectivity initiatives and participation in national interoperability efforts, including the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA).

As more providers connect and contribute data, clinicians gain access to the data needed to support informed, coordinated care regardless of where their patients previously received treatment.

"What stands out is how quickly these organizations are seeing benefits once clinicians have access to the information they need," said Cordeiro. "The stories we are hearing range from avoiding duplicate tests to uncovering information that may not have otherwise been available. Those are tangible examples of how better access to information can support better care."

About MEDITECH

MEDITECH empowers healthcare organizations to expand their vision of what’s possible with Expanse, the intelligent EHR. Expanse provides a future-ready foundation for health systems of all sizes, leveraging the power of AI, cloud computing, and advanced interoperability to support world-class care in 28 countries and territories. Boost clinician satisfaction, patient engagement, and organizational efficiency. Visit ehr.meditech.com and follow us on YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.