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Providence Health Services, one of the two major medical providers in the Rogue Valley, has embarked on a major overhaul of how it tracks its patients and performance. Providence, which operates 32 hospitals and employs 2,300 physicians in five Western states, is implementing a $750 million electronic health records system called Epic, along with new software and a database. The cost of health care is rising as much as four times faster than inflation, Richard Gibson, chief health care intelligence and informatics officer for Providence Health Services, told the monthly Chamber of Medford/Jackson County Forum gathering Monday at Rogue Valley Country Club. "American workers are not getting the raise they might otherwise get because their firm's productivity is being transferred out to pay for health care premiums," Gibson said. "These trends are unsustainable." The Epic system, formulated with the suggestions of hundreds of people in the medical field, is designed to improve care and reduce costs primarily by improving communication between providers and by tracking outcomes. The system will lead to better tests and imaging selections, treatments and medications, Gibson said, leaving no stone unturned. "The computer will suggest unusual diagnoses, so that nothing is missed," he said. With a database delivering insight from a broad spectrum of issues going into surgery, patient outcomes will improve, Gibson said. The system will review everything from preoperative plans to pain relief and therapy options. It also will identify the surgeons associated with the best outcomes and fewest post-operative complications, so their practices can be studied and duplicated. "And of course, (the system will monitor) who provides that care at the lowest cost to the insurance company, the patient and to society at large," Gibson said. "Analyzing our data is crucial." Collected data will help doctors study outcomes and produce best practices. Providence will share its data with other medical groups, such as Asante in Southern Oregon. Federal incentives, Gibson said, will lead to similar systems being implemented throughout the country. While the system doesn't dictate what a doctor does, it provides tools. "Epic doesn't require doctors to do anything," Gibson said. "We always have in medicine a saying that the physician or clinician knows best because he or she is dealing directly with the patient." He said the system provides guidelines so if there is an uncertainty about treatment options, doctors are steered toward the best practices based on elements such as gender, age, race and kidney function. "If a physician chooses to depart from guidelines, we presume there is a reason to do that," Gibson said. "What better way would there be to manage that than by collecting that treatment for the patient at that time?" When such information goes into a database with one group of doctors treating patients in one way and a second group in another it provides a research opportunity. "You can see which outcome is better," he said. "Was there a reason the physicians deviated from the suggested care? They may be on to something and that's how discoveries are made, care is influenced and articles are written." On the other hand, when doctors order tests that don't have bearing on a patient's outcome and veer off in a fruitless direction, the system will respond. "If we're going to survive and needlessly take money from roads, schools, lunch programs and world peace, let's not go into diagnostic studies and treatments that don't do any good." Patients will be able to access the system by going to a secured website, using a private code, to review their chart. The system also is a one-stop billing site for hospitals, clinics and outpatient departments, Gibson said. "You get one bill for hospital care, the emergency department, outpatient care and facility and physicians." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or email [email protected].