Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge and Lane Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Zachary announced a formal agreement to share the same electronic medical record delivered through the integrated EPIC platform. EPIC is one of the nation’s largest electronic medical record software systems securely linking real-time, personalized diagnostic, treatment, and continuing care data for each patient. Because Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center is a member of the multi-state Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS), LRMC will also benefit from full access to the health system’s integrated software.
“Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has worked closely with the incredible team of Lane Regional Medical Center for years to provide the best quality of care for the capital area community,” said Catherine O’Neal, MD, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake. “As neighbors in proximity and care, our two healthcare systems have collaborated on many projects together and we are proud to continue our work together in ongoing efforts to improve the experience of our patients.”
With this agreement, FMOLHS will collaboratively work with Lane Regional Medical Center physicians and leadership to install and implement the EPIC software. The collective goal is to improve care coordination, patient registration, scheduling, and clinical integration, while also streamlining the financial and billing processes. Central to the EPIC model is patient access and participation in their personal health information using the robust patient portal, MyChart. Through this secure online tool, patients can easily schedule appointments, communicate with their doctors, request prescription refills, and view visit summaries, lab and imaging results from the convenience of a laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
Planning is already underway between the two healthcare systems and implementation of the EPIC platform at LRMC is expected to begin in early 2024.