Meadowlands Hospital reaps benefits from using OpenVistA

New Jersey community hospital fully recoups initial investment in Medsphere’s affordable open source EHR solution

Carlsbad, CA, and Secaucus, NJ—Medsphere Systems Corporation and Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center (MHMC) today announced that MHMC has met Stage One Meaningful Use requirements using Medsphere’s OpenVista® electronic health record (EHR) . The Secaucus, New Jersey, hospital has received an initial reimbursement from the federal government that covers the five-year total cost of ownership for OpenVista.

For MHMC, a 230-bed facility with contrasting views of both the Manhattan skyline and New Jersey’s Meadowlands open space, the stimulus reimbursement comes in the midst of a significant transition. The hospital was recently purchased by MHA, a private equity group that has injected millions of dollars into an ongoing renaissance that is improving the physical facility, bringing in preeminent clinical specialists and transforming MHMC into one of the most technologically advanced healthcare organizations on the East Coast.

“The transition and ongoing enhancements at Meadowlands Hospital speak to owners, administrators and staff working collaboratively to maximize quality of care with the patient as the ultimate beneficiary. Medsphere is very pleased to play a part in that transformation,” said Medsphere President and CEO Irv Lichtenwald. “Congratulations to President and CEO Lynn McVey and her clinicians and staff on meeting Stage One Meaningful Use. We look forward to future developments at MHMC and to working with the hospital to meet all federal funding requirements.”

Importantly, MHMC administrators and clinical leadership are building on a sound platform of quality care. The hospital follows a concierge-style policy where all patient rooms are private, resulting in a zero percent infection rate. Thanks to a primary focus on cleanliness, MHMC is ranked among the cleanest hospitals in the U.S. according to patient feedback compiled by the Department of Health and Human Services for the Hospital Compare Web site .

“OpenVista was critical to MHMC improving both care and economic performance. We saved millions on OpenVista compared with other available EHR systems, and we were also able to rapidly meet Meaningful Use requirements,” said McVey. “The funds we saved on a comprehensive EHR have been freed up for other improvements we’re making, which makes OpenVista a fiscally responsible choice that facilitates benefits for both clinicians and patients.”

Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center joins other Medsphere hospital partners who have received federal stimulus funds. Most recently, 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. In late 2011, Hoboken University Medical Center, an MHMC neighbor, 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. As one of a select group of hospitals that have received federal reimbursement, MHMC has demonstrated what a community hospital can accomplish with the right system, partners and commitment.