The UHS Acute Care Division is committed to quality by improving its clinical operations and providing better support for physicians through systems that offer increased functionality. The implementation of UHS FUSION, an electronic information system based on industry-leading software from the Cerner ®  Corporation provides the technological foundation. 

UHS FUSION gives physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals immediate access to an advanced medical records system, lab results and imaging. However, technology alone is not enough. Electronic Health Records (EHR) must be used in the most effective manner to provide the greatest benefit to patients and the staff, a concept called Meaningful Use (MU) by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which provides financial incentives to hospitals that use EHR. 

By consistently exceeding MU requirements, UHS will be able to help enhance patient safety, improve the effectiveness of physicians and staff members by facilitating clinical integration, increase physician functionality and provide the advanced exchange of information that can improve quality. 

Phase I of UHS FUSION was successfully installed and implemented in three acute care hospitals in Florida – Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, Manatee Memorial Hospital and Wellington Regional Medical Center – and was designed and tested at The George Washington University Hospital. 

The system will be implemented at additional acute care hospitals throughout 2012, and is scheduled for implementation in all facilities by the end of 2013. 

UHS continually works to increase efficiency in its processes and procedures by employing Lean Six Sigma management techniques. Process Improvement teams from the corporate office and local facilities continuously evaluate hospital operations to identify possible improvements. 

At Texoma Medical Center, throughput times in the emergency department were longer than established benchmarks, leading to lower patient satisfaction scores as well as lost revenue. At the beginning of 2011, 8.6 percent of patients were leaving the emergency room without being seen. By evaluating every step of the process and implementing a number of changes, the team was able to reduce throughput times and cut the number of patients who left without being treated to just 2.2 percent by the end of the year, compared to the national median of 2.6 percent. 

To help ensure quality of care in difficult medical environments, UHS has developed High Reliability Units (HRU). Originally created by the military and airline industry, where minor errors can lead to catastrophic outcomes, the high reliability concept creates a culture of safety within a unit. That culture enhances the unit’s ability to prevent errors through the use of established safety procedures, and builds awareness among all team members that even small failures in safety protocols will not be tolerated. 

