Published: August 23, 2005

Jackson Hospital Bolsters Patient Safety and Physician Access With McKesson

Comprehensive Project Also Targets Improvements in Business Operations and Use of Resources

Jackson Hospital in Montgomery, Ala., recently announced that it has selected McKesson to implement a broad range of information technology solutions designed to help enhance clinical quality and medication safety, automate clinical departments and improve business operations. The 379-bed healthcare facility, one of the largest in Alabama, will deploy McKesson's Horizon Clinicals® suite along with the company's revenue cycle and resource management solutions. McKesson will also provide a wide range of professional services to help Jackson derive the full benefit of its solutions as well as IT outsourcing support to develop and implement a strategic IT plan.

"To deliver superior levels of safe and effective care, we are investing in state-of-the-art technologies that will enhance our clinicians' ability to practice medicine," said Don Henderson, chief executive officer of Jackson Hospital. "Working with McKesson, we can provide our community with the best possible array of medical services using the most advanced clinical tools."

Once the solutions are implemented, physicians will use a secure, Web-based portal to view patients' clinical data rather than manually retrieving and consulting paper records. With instant access to essential information such as vital signs, diagnostic images and laboratory results, physicians can make more informed decisions and accelerate time to treatment. Nurses and other members of the care team will be able to document patient care electronically, enabling information to be readily available to all who need it.

Nurses at Jackson Hospital will also adopt McKesson's industry-leading Horizon Admin-Rx(TM) for scanning bar codes on unit-dose, patient medications at the bedside. The solution, which is integrated with the patient's electronic chart, helps to ensure the "five rights" of medication safety -- right patient, right drug, right dose, right time and right route. Nationally, McKesson's bar-code scanning solutions help prevent an estimated 56,000 medication errors while issuing more than 400,000 alerts to hospital staff each week. The hospital will join the five to 10 percent of healthcare facilities nationwide that use bar-coding scanning to accurately track and record patient medications.

Jackson Hospital will also deploy McKesson's picture archiving and communications system (PACS) for medical images. The PACS digitally acquires, distributes and archives diagnostics images and reports. It works in conjunction with a document imaging system, which allows physicians to electronically access, review, sign and complete patient charts. The hospital will also improve emergency-room services by adopting a system that documents and automates ER care and processes.

"Immediate access to a patient's medical history will reduce the need to search for information on paper, which will free us to focus on delivering care and improving outcomes," said. Randy Cook, M.D., a surgeon at Jackson Hospital. "As a result, we will be able to make more informed and collaborative evaluations that will lead to more effective decisions and safer levels of care."

To expedite and improve administrative and revenue cycle functions, Jackson Hospital will deploy McKesson's STAR hospital information system. This will enable the healthcare facility to automate patient registration, charge capture, billing, and other financial and administrative functions, as well as better manage insurance claims and patient accounting. The hospital will also implement McKesson's resource management suite to improve supply chain efficiency and promote the best use of resources such as surgical suites and other high-cost areas of the hospital.

"We look forward to partnering with Jackson Hospital in a transformational project that we expect to not only improve clinical quality and safety, but also financial performance," said Loren Buysman, McKesson group president, customer operations. "Working side by side, we will deliver a comprehensive healthcare IT system that will result in more efficient operations and an electronic health record to support enhanced care delivery."

About Jackson Hospital

Jackson Hospital is a nonprofit, acute-care hospital located in Montgomery, Alabama. Licensed for 379 beds, it ranks among the largest hospitals in Alabama and is widely recognized for healthcare excellence. Its full complement of medical staff members represents a wide range of specialists, with many physicians being leaders in their fields. For more information, visit www.jackson.org.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation is a Fortune 15 healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving the quality and safety of patient care. Over the course of its 170-year history, McKesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare, and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information, visit. http://mpt.mckesson.com.