Making interoperability a reality for a critical access hospital

The company

As a critical access hospital, Butler County Health Care Center faces added challenges in its effort to improve quality of care and generate greater operational efficiencies. Low patient densities, geographically disparate providers, and relatively limited resources impede the hospital's ability to adopt the latest innovations at the speed of its more urban peers.

The leadership team at the David City, Nebraska hospital had a vision for change, one that included building and strengthening its health IT infrastructure. As part of that transformation, Butler County reassessed all of its existing resources and came to realize that its traditional approach to interfacing, outsourcing the work to its HIS vendor, was no longer sufficient to support the vision.

The solution

eTX HEMI, the Healthcare Enterprise Messaging and Integration engine by eTransX, provided the path to make that vision a thriving reality. "After sitting through a presentation on integration in a rural setting, it just clicked for me. The eTransX solution made a lot of sense for us on a multitude of levels. We immediately knew it was the right solution for us," said Don Naiberk, CEO, Butler County Health Care Center.

That is when Mr. Naiberk and his team, including Information Systems Director Cindy Neesen, saw the opportunity to take more control of the integration process. They were no longer at the mercy of health IT vendors when it came to creating interfaces.

"The team at eTransX has been great about providing guidance on ways we can keep integration costs down," said Neesen. "They go out of their way to help us avoid unnecessary expenses. We really value their advice when negotiating integration costs with other vendors."

Butler County captured significant savings shortly after implementing the eTX HEMI integration engine. Naiberk noted, "The savings realized from using the system on the very first interface almost entirely offset the cost of the licensing fees. eTransX has demystified the interface process for us and allowed us to use our money more wisely."

Freeing up internal IT resources

As with many small hospitals, the IT department at Butler County has had to adapt to a broader scope of responsibilities. In addition to supporting day-to-day operations, the internal IT team took on new, resource-draining charges such as Meaningful Use attestation.

With a three-person team, keeping up with demand for application interfaces would have been a daunting task. Rather than stretching resources thin, Butler County relied on the dedicated support team at eTransX for the entire integration process, from specifications through deployment.

"The eTransX support team has allowed us to free up staff for other pressing needs. The technical complexities of building an interface present a real challenge, especially for critical access hospitals where staff resources are in high demand," said Neesen. She continued, "If all of our software vendors were as easy to work with as eTransX, the conversion to EMR would have been a lot easier."

Redefining what is possible

With its successful transition to eTX HEMI, Butler County is expanding its use of the engine to address other connectivity needs, including bi-directional interfaces with area physician practices, reference laboratories, nursing facilities, and cloud-based transcription solutions.

"eTransX enables us to support new initiatives with the speed and confidence that comes with its system capabilities and support. Integration is no longer an I wonder what that will cost us scenario. The eTX HEMI system has opened the door to a new world of possibilities for us," said Naiberk.

Health information technology will play a central role in the ability of Butler County to maximize operational efficiencies and maintain a strong commitment to patient-focused healthcare. Interoperability of health information, financial, and administrative systems is an integral part of that effort.