Erlanger has recently announced their decision to purchase a $100,000,000 Electronic Health Information System. Something smells.
Erlanger's downtown campus has 760 licensed beds, according to hospital-data. That would equate to $131,578 per bed for this system (now that's a lot of ipads). Please re-read that simple math.
I use to manage an Electric Medication Administration Record network at a 500-bed healthcare facility, which I understand is much different than a complete Electronic Health Information System. Nevertheless, our network cost us approximately $50,000 to implement plus a yearly maintenance charge of around $50,000.
I would be curious to know what Memorial pays for their Electronic Medical Record System. Someone from local government needs to look into this, because someone is getting rich, and it isn't the taxpayers.
Donald Kent
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I can’t say I have Mr. Kent’s perspective on the cost/benefit of medical records expenditures. I have no particular insight on Erlanger’s Gunbarrel Road or Red Bank expansions either.
However, with the obvious windfall from the Affordable Health Care Act the institution has received, I surely would feel better about those costs if Erlanger had also announced reductions in its fees and charges to patients.
Frank Wrinn
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Donald Kent, you ask us to re-read the simple math so we would understand your assertion that Erlanger was wasting taxpayer money. I’m for anything that will preclude the waste of taxpayer money. However, in this case your simple math was just too simple. Allow me to explain how I view the cost.
First, Erlanger, as we call it, is really Erlanger Health Systems and consists of four campuses as well as the Southside Community Center and Dodson Avenue Community Health Care. There are a total of 818 licensed beds and all are used more than once, as your simple math would indicate.
As a matter of public record, in 2013 Erlanger Heath Systems had 28,840 inpatient admissions, 476,819 outpatient visits and 113,000 emergency room visits, and this with 818 beds. Compute these numbers and see what you come up with. If the average inpatient only stay was $10,000 (I believe it to be much higher) that would equal $288,400,000. Add outpatient average cost of $500 and that number is another $238,409,500. Then add in the average cost of $3,000 for emergency room revenue and that is an additional $339,000,000. I did not research these cost and believe them to all be low, but you get the picture.
Since Kevin Spiegel has been hired as CEO of the Erlanger Health Systems, we have seen a tremendous turnaround and much more peace among the employees and practitioners. I like peace. It’s like the same peace we have enjoyed since Rick Smith has taken over as Hamilton County School superintendent. I for one am glad we have Erlanger and Mr. Spiegel at the helm. I trust his judgment.
J. Pat Williams