MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – Adventist Health (AH) is making a significant investment in Mendocino County to improve the information technology infrastructure of Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital (HMH), Ukiah Valley Medical Center (UVMC) and their associated clinics to serve patients seamlessly across the region.

In February, AH will roll out an upgrade to the software that is used in the registration process.

According to Becky Ryan, lead project manager for the upgrade in Mendocino County, “Currently our clinics and hospitals have been running on two different legacy software systems. That is one of the reasons when you register for a service in the clinic, and then at the hospital you have to reregister as if you were a new patient. This upgrade will make significant improvements to how information is transferred between the clinics and hospitals. Our patient’s medical records will now be integrated into one system to provide seamless care for our patients in the clinics and at the hospital. The integration will improve the timeliness and thoroughness of patient care, including reduction of medication errors and unnecessary testing.”

This is the fourth upgrade that AH has undertaken as a system. Three other regions have already upgraded and improved their processes and flow of information.

Once all the upgrades are complete it will help improve processes across its19 hospitals and numerous clinics throughout California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.

This means that medical records will be more easily accessible and transferable across the system – essentially making it easier for patients who utilize the services of an AH-affiliated hospital or clinic while outside of Mendocino county or the state.

President and CEO of UVMC Gwen Matthews believes that this upgrade will make a tremendous improvement in the overall information technology systems of the medical center.

“This will greatly improve the flow of electronic information across UVMC as a whole,” said Matthews. “Our clinics and ambulatory hospital services, lab and medical imaging, emergency services will be able to access the same medical record and information on each patient. This will help provide a consistent continuum of care for each patient no matter where they are seen in the system.”

Likewise, Howard Memorial Hospital President and CEO Rick Bockmann echoed Matthews’ sentiments.

“Patient safety and quality patient care have always been a top priority at HMH,” he said. “An upgraded system better enables us to continue to provide high quality care to our patients. With this change, patients will only register once even if their care requires multiple services within our care delivery network. As we approach the opening of our new HMH Hospital, I am confident this new system will improve the patient experience above our already high standards.”

The new system will take effect starting Feb. 4. The staff at both hospitals and all affiliated clinics have made every effort to ensure that there is minimal impact to patients during this transition. There might be slightly longer than normal waiting times as the staff gets acquainted with the new software.

These clinics include Heart Institute in Ukiah; Fort Bragg Rural Health Center; Mendocino Family Care; Redwood Medical Clinic in Willits; Ukiah Valley Medical Specialties - Gastroenterology; Ukiah Valley Medical Specialties – Orthopedics, and Ukiah Valley Rural Health Center network of clinics. Patients with scheduled appointments from Feb. 4 through Feb. 28 are advised to bring their ID/Driver’s License and proof of insurance for re-registration in the new system.