Rush Health Systems announces technology partnership with Ochsner Health System
Published 3:30 pm Tuesday, September 17, 2019
- Rush Health Systems announces technology partnership with Ochsner Health System
Rush Health Systems announced plans Tuesday to partner with Ochsner Health System on technology to enhance services for patients and healthcare providers.
Rush Health Systems is the largest, most diverse healthcare system in East Mississippi and West Alabama.
Rush Health Systems is comprised of 7 hospitals and 23 primary care clinics, with 250 staff and contracted physicians and 95 advanced-practice providers. Rush is the largest non-governmental employer in the region.
Rush Health Systems includes Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian; The Specialty Hospital of Meridian in Meridian; Medical Foundation, Inc., Laird Hospital in Union; H.C. Watkins Memorial Hospital in Quitman; Scott Regional Hospital in Morton; John C. Stennis Memorial Hospital in DeKalb and Choctaw General Hospital in Butler, Alabama.
For more information, visit rushhealthsystems.org and follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Under the 10-year agreement, Rush will pay Ochsner to implement a software called Epic, according to Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Ochsner Health System.
“We are very focused on continuing to help Rush keep more people local for care because we think local care is best care,” Thomas said.
An online portal will allow patients to look up test results, make appointments, and message doctors online, he said.
Ochsner Health System is Louisiana’s largest non-profit, academic, healthcare system.
Ochsner provides care in 40 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and specialty hospitals, and more than 100 health centers and urgent care centers.
Ochsner employs nearly 25,000 employees and over 4,500 employed and affiliated physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties and conducts more than 700 clinical research studies.
For more information, visit ochsner.org and follow on Twitter and Facebook.
“We live in a healthcare environment today that’s very competitive, very consumer-focused, ” said Larkin Kennedy, president and CEO of Rush Health Systems. “This brings a technology to us that allows us to connect with our patients in ways that we’ve never been able to before.”
Kennedy said the partnership will decrease costs and help Rush’s longevity.
“We’re taking these steps so that we can ensure we’re here 104 years from now, continuing to take care of patients,” Kennedy said. “Absolutely, it’s a step to solidify the care that we provide in this region.”
Rush will also have access to Ochsner’s “nationally-recognized billing practices,” according to a news release.
Though the technology will change the way Rush provides care, there are no plans for layoffs, Kennedy said.
Last year, Rush began using Ochsner’s TeleStroke program, which allows Rush doctors and nurses to consult with Ochsner vascular neurologists using telemedicine equipment, the news release said.
