We have definitely become a society that loves to have the latest and greatest. I can remember the Christmas my grandparents got us the newest video game — Atari. My brother, sisters and I would play for the allowed time, and we thought we were the coolest kids on the block. Now we’ve come a long way from Atari, and I’m not sure that kids today would agree with the cool factor, but it is still cool to have the “latest” technology.
Over the years, however, I have found that sometimes the newest, greatest, improved isn’t much different than the old. It’s just in a better package.
This is often true with the technology we use for work, too. That new update, patch or enhancement really didn’t delivery what it promised. Maybe the changes were more cosmetic than truly transformative. More of a bolt on – I’ve always loved that term – than integrated. And let’s not even begin with the true meaning of “plug and play”.
MEDITECH Expanse is different
MEDITECH Expanse has been released for several years now and came with the same fanfare described above. Version 2.1 was released in 2018 followed by the more fully web-enabled version 2.2 in 2020, The release of MEDITECH Expanse means a new implementation for existing Magic clients and a significant update for 6.x clients. However, it’s safe to say that Expanse 2.2 is much more than just a new paint job and is really a powerful EHR platform for healthcare organizations and patient care.
How MEDITECH Expanse makes care better for clinical care teams and patients
Below are some of the reasons your teams will love MEDITECH Expanse, and key updates that make their life and ultimately their ability to care for the patient more efficient and easier:
1. Ease of access. Expanse 2.2 is designed to be accessed by the majority of end users via a web browser. While this doesn’t totally eliminate the need for Citrix, it does reduce the need by up to 95% for most sites. In addition, facilities have the ability to:
- Enable multiple web sessions per user
- Add user notifications at sign on
- Add computer security agreement functionality at sign on
- Configure different options to sign on to facilities for users who need to access multiple facilities as well as set defaults.
2. Clinician and physician designed integration. Sites are constantly striving to improve — improve outcomes, improve efficiency, and improve user and patient experience. The integrated workflow in the Expanse 2.2 application challenges sites to think differently and understand how the system was designed to work. Doctors and clinicians had a hand in the design*, and this shows in the integration between the workflows, toolkits, documentation and services areas whether in the acute space or acute and ambulatory.
3. Simplified workflow. Along with a new look for clinicians and updates to Point of Care (PoC), Expanse 2.2 enables Web Nursing features. This simplified functionality impacts the workflows not just for the nursing staff but all clinicians on the acute side as well as emergency departments and surgical services.
Why this makes a difference:
- Provides same or similar views to the patient chart that the provider received previously
- Gives them side-by-side worklist, patient summary views, multiple patient lists options and many other enhancements the desktop view did not allow
- Offers expanded features in the Point of Care (PoC) module that are now included in Surgical Services
4. The right information in real time. Interactive worklists within the Patient List Format Dictionary help clinicians have the information they need most in real time. Since many applications can take advantage of the ability to customize the format of these interactive worklists, this feature can dramatically change the way users manage their daily work.
Say goodbye to complicated spreadsheets, scheduled or downloaded and printed reports, because end users can access or configure their own worklist on the fly. They can work in the system to navigate from task to task while at the same time receiving alerts about a perhaps higher, new priority task — all right from their desktop.
Interactive worklists play a key role in improving integration but it also means collaboration among team members is essential since all applications and user type can take advantage of this functionality.
Here’s a tip for getting the most out of this functionality: everyone should use the indicators, colors and alerts in the same manner to prevent mis-communication and misunderstanding. The collaboration needed for this feature to work well is also a great way to continue to build the teamwork necessary to keep your facility running smoothly.
5. Care team communication. In Expanse 2.1, the Message and Task functionality expanded between the Ambulatory and Workload features*. Now in Expanse 2.2, this functionality resides in Workload for both acute and ambulatory. Plus, the integration with the Patient Portal can help enhance patient care and outcomes. (See a demo of this feature when you subscribe to the MEDITECH Resource Library.)
Bottom line: This integration can lead to improved care team communication and a more streamlined workflow for daily tasks. The power of this enhancement really depends on the team working toward the common goal of effective, efficient communication. To realize the full potential of this enhancement, teams will need to plan and coordinate as they begin implementing these features.
6. Personalization, centralization for your business needs. Each community and patient population has different needs which means healthcare organizations need to customize their EHR. MEDITECH Expanse offers flexibility for sites to configure and set up the system in order to meet business, clinical care team, and patient needs. More parameters than ever are available in Expanse where you can configure the system at the end user level.
The ability to turn features on and off, configure access*, menus, set user preferences, widgets and widget templates for specific users* and user types takes MEDITECH Expanse 2.2 to the next level when it comes to EHR user satisfaction, efficiency, and patient safety.
See Expanse in action
Watch this demo using our sandbox system (Providers Medical Center) to see the new look, ease of navigation in the clinical areas, and customized views that you can tailor to how your clinicians work.
More resources for you
This article skims the surface when it comes to the enhancements and integrations you will find in MEDITECH Expanse 2.2. The future seems bright with the MEDITECH Expanse platform.
Whether your organization is still using MEDITECH Magic and thinking about making the switch to MEDITECH Expanse or you are already on Expanse and looking to get more out of the platform, we have resources to help you. Here are a few to get you started:
* See a demo of this feature when you subscribe to the MEDITECH Resource Library.
