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NEWS
FROM CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE
March
1 , 2007
Cambridge Health Alliance First in Massachusetts to Implement
Electronic Laboratory Reporting
Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Medford, Revere, Somerville, Winthrop,
MA Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) announced today that it is
the first hospital system to implement electronic laboratory reporting
(ELR) of communicable diseases to the Massachusetts Department of
Public Health (MDPH).
CHA lab medicine and information system specialists, led by Mary
Calia, IT applications manager, and Charlotte Silas, an applications
analyst, coordinated with MDPH to implement the ELR methodology
for all three of CHA's hospital campuses: The Cambridge Hospital,
Somerville Hospital, and Whidden Memorial Hospital. With MDPH's
hands-on training and assistance, CHA built a translation table
which takes the unique local codes for test, organisms, and specimen
sources and converts them to industry standard codes. The data is
then formatted and sent to MDPH's secure web server, giving state
epidemiologists instant access to a complete report which includes
demographics, test type, specimen source, exact results, and antibiotic
susceptibilities.
By employing ELR, CHA is able to deliver lab results, drawn directly
from its information system, to MDPH the same day they become available.
ELR reduces the complexity of reporting for cases defined by laboratory
results while also improving the efficiency, completeness, and timeliness
of the reports.
Massachusetts Department of Public Health: www.mass.gov/dph
Cambridge
Health Alliance is a regional healthcare system with three hospitals
and more than twenty primary care practices in Cambridge, Somerville,
and Boston's metro-North communities. As a teaching affiliate of
Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Health Alliance offers medical
residency/training programs and undergraduate learning experiences
in hospital and community settings. Cambridge Health Alliance also
includes the Cambridge Public Health Department, CHA Physicians
Organization (CHAPO), and Network Health, a managed Medicaid plan.
See
also ARCHIVES
of Press Releases
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Media
Contacts
Alison
Harris
Director Media Relations
Phone: 617-499-8323
Cell: 781-424-3293
Pager: 617-546-8696
aharris@challiance.org
David
Cecere
Media Relations Manager
Phone: 617-503-8428
Cell: 617-921-9613
Pager:
617-546-1879
dcecere@challiance.org
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