Guadalupe County Hospital in New Mexico goes live on Medsphere's OpenVista

Even one of the smallest acute-care hospitals in U.S. can afford an electronic health record and demonstrate Meaningful Use

SANTA ROSA, N.M., AND CARLSBAD, CA—Medsphere Systems Corporation and Guadalupe County Hospital today announced that Guadalupe has gone live on Medsphere’s OpenVista® electronic health record (EHR). Medsphere’s open-source EHR solution makes it feasible for  this 10-bed Santa Rosa, N.M., hospital—one of the smallest acute-care facilities in the country not designated critical access—to affordably improve patient care and attest  for federal Meaningful Use funds.

The selection of Medsphere by Guadalupe and similar facilities points to a pressing need among smaller, resource-challenged hospitals for cost-effective health IT solutions like the OpenVista EHR.

“Our patients deserve quality care, even though they don’t live near a huge academic hospital in an urban environment,” said Guadalupe CEO Christina Campos, also the hospital’s COO, CIO and marketing chief. “OpenVista gives us the tool necessary to actively pursue workflow and quality changes. And, because Medsphere’s subscription-based pricing model does not require large upfront costs, realizing such improvements and achieving Meaningful Use are possible for a small institution like ours.  We are very pleased to provide our community with the best technology and health care available.”

Under federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) legislation, eligible hospitals that implement and meaningfully use an EHR may receive increased Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. In the future, the incentives will become penalties for hospitals that have not implemented an EHR.

“Smaller hospitals like Guadalupe play a crucial role in the fabric of rural societies,” said Medsphere President and CEO Irv Lichtenwald. “Medsphere is proud to collaborate with Guadalupe in serving the Santa Rosa community.”

After achieving Meaningful Use as anticipated, Guadalupe will join other Medsphere hospital partners who have received federal stimulus funds. Most recently, Beauregard Memorial Hospital received federal reimbursement sufficient to cover the hospital’s five-year total licensing costs for the OpenVista EHR. New Jersey’s Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center (MHMC) also received an initial federal reimbursement large enough to cover the entire five-year cost of OpenVista.

In late 2011, California’s Kern Medical Center received more than $5 million from the federal government, with in excess of $11 million expected in total. Earlier, Texas’s Midland Memorial Hospital received $3.3 million of more than $7 million expected over the life of the Meaningful Use program. Hoboken University Medical Center, an MHMC neighbor, last year received about $3 million of an estimated $8 million in total federal reimbursement.

According to statistics provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), slightly less than 16 percent of all U.S. hospitals have met Meaningful Use requirements and received stimulus funds.

About Guadalupe County Hospital

Guadalupe County Hospital is a general medical facility providing adult and pediatric care. With a full-time staff of 45, including administrative staff, this 10-bed acute care hospital handles roughly 250 admissions and 2500 emergency room visits per year. Located in Santa Rosa, N.M., 117 miles east of Albuquerque on Interstate 40, Guadalupe serves the entire county of fewer than 4700 people. 

About Medsphere and OpenVista

Founded in 2002 and based in Carlsbad, Calif., Medsphere Systems Corporation is an award-winning organization of clinical and technology professionals working to make quality health IT solutions accessible to organizations of virtually any size, shape or budget. Medsphere’s OpenVista® is a portfolio of clinical support products and professional services that leverages an electronic health record (EHR) system developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This VistA EHR is widely credited with helping transform the VA into the nation's most efficient and clinically effective healthcare organization. OpenVista, the most fully commercialized VistA offspring, is a responsible reapplication of the VA’s $8.5 billion investment, which recent studies show have yielded $3.09 billion in benefits, primarily from the near elimination of medication administration issues and duplicate testing. 

Medsphere’s subscription-based pricing model enables hospital, clinic and integrated delivery network customers to pay for OpenVista from their operating budget with no upfront costs or back-end balloon payments. Expert implementation and other services facilitate fluid and rapid transition to a paperless clinical environment focusing on best practices and evidence-based medicine in six to nine months. Medsphere also actively nurtures the Healthcare Open Source Ecosystem, a global community of customers, partners, developers and other online collaborators who drive OpenVista innovation, and provide a parallel development and support structure.