Another Portal Remedy

Hildwein says McKesson's turnkey solution has served the hospital well, especially given the fact that, like many hospitals, Boca Community sees its portal enabling access to other back-end systems over time. CIOs see the portal as a key method of interfacing with emerging electronic health records. Since rolling out the portal, the Southeast Florida-based hospital has added and continues to implement new systems, including a picture-archiving and communications system that allows physicians to access X-rays and MRIs, which are linked to the portal. Deploying a computerized physician order entry is on the agenda this year, plus a patient portal down the road.

"The portal is an enabler for each of the different applications that we implement," Hildwein says, noting it gives doctors much more flexibility. "It becomes a front line for the physician for remote access."