Healthland, America’s market leader of healthcare information solutions for small community and critical access hospitals, today announced that West Carroll Memorial Hospital has successfully implemented its Electronic Medical Records (EMR) solution – further supporting Healthland’s ongoing relationship with the Louisiana Rural Hospital Coalition (LARHC). West Carroll Memorial, a 33-bed hospital serving residents in Northeast Louisiana and Southeast Arkansas, selected Healthland’s system after it was awarded an RHIO (Regional Health Information Organization) grant managed by the Louisiana Rural Health Information Exchange (LaRHIX). With the new system, West Carroll Memorial now has telemedicine capabilities with Louisiana State University (LSU), enabling the LSU physicians to consult and treat patients remotely.

“EMR, health information exchange and telemedicine is the future of healthcare,” said Randy Morris, West Carroll Memorial Hospital CEO and LARHC President. “EMR alone is not enough; the access of medical records must go beyond the walls of each facility to all healthcare venues. Information exchange among all clinicians is essential to quality patient care, something Healthland truly understands. We plan to use Healthland’s EMR system across West Carroll Health Systems – in the hospital, clinics, home health and adult care facilities. Working with Healthland and LaRHIX provides our patients the opportunity to receive personalized care from our skilled staff as well as the specialized services from LSU.”

LaRHIX is an organization created to support Louisiana’s health information technology initiatives in rural areas. The organization’s key technology, the LaRHIX portal, is an internet-based health information system that gives health care professionals access to patient records from any provider database that is connected to the network. This health information exchanges provides West Carroll Memorial Hospital the capability to share patient information with Louisiana State University, enabling real-time diagnosis and treatment and eliminating the need for its patients to travel hundreds of miles for specialized care.

Healthland’s solutions enable information exchange by providing a single patient chart for the entire healthcare community including data from a hospital visit, clinic appointment, long-term care stay or home health call. The information is recorded electronically and accessible in real time, creating operational efficiencies, improving patient care and eliminating duplicated lab results and patient information.

Today, West Carroll Memorial is live with Healthland’s Physician Practice Management application. Additional products will be added as part of West Carroll Health Systems enterprise-wide EMR implementation. Financial Management and Clinical EMR will be among the next applications to go live in the coming months.

“It is such a rewarding experience working with leaders in the industry, like Randy Morris and his team at West Carroll Memorial Hospital, to help improve the state of healthcare in rural communities,” said Angie Franks, Healthland Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Improving the quality of medical records and enabling the exchange of patient information is vital to transforming rural healthcare – we are grateful to the state of Louisiana for its pioneering role in adopting healthcare technologies.”

About Healthland:

Founded in 1980, Healthland (formerly Dairyland Healthcare Solutions) is America’s market leader of IT solutions to small community and critical access hospitals. Committed exclusively to this market, Healthland software and services empower small community hospitals to deliver the best possible healthcare by helping create one patient chart across the community, be it a hospital, clinic, home healthcare or long term care facility. Healthland solutions are specifically designed for rural hospitals, enabling them to focus on what they do best – caring for neighbors, family and friends.

Healthland was founded in Glenwood, Minn. and maintains business hubs in Minneapolis, Minn., Louisville, Ky. and Waco, Texas. To learn more, visit: http://www.healthland.com.