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PRISM: Fletcher Allen's Electronic Health Record

As a Fletcher Allen patient, you can be confident that you will receive the highest level of care from dedicated, compassionate professionals, who are supported by state-of-the-art technology and leading-edge research.  In keeping with this commitment to you, we are very pleased to be implementing an advanced electronic health record system to enhance your care experience. 

Our electronic health record project, called PRISM (Patient Record and Information Systems Management), will help Fletcher Allen achieve its vision of becoming a national model for the delivery of high-quality academic health care for a rural region. The development of an electronic health record is a critical, clinical process that will help Fletcher Allen improve quality and enhance safety while protecting the security and confidentiality of our patients’ health information. 

According to a nationwide hospital survey published in the March 2009 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, only 10.9% of U.S. hospitals have implemented a basic Electronic Health Record, and only 1.5% have implemented a comprehensive Electronic Health Record like PRISM.  Fletcher Allen is pleased to bring you the benefits of this leading edge health technology.

Fletcher Allen's implementation of the Electronic Health Record was just featured in a recent HFMA article. Read the HFMA EHR Mini-Forum- "Five Tips for a Successful EHR Implementation".

What is an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system?

In an EHR system, all of your health information, including your medical charts, treatment notes, medication lists and prescription orders, are converted from paper files to a single electronic record housed on a computer-based software application.

Your EHR can be retrieved by your care providers who are authorized to access the record, enabling all providers on your care team –whether at Fletcher Allen or practicing in the community – to collaborate to ensure seamless care. 

What is PRISM (Patient Record and Information Systems Management)?

In April 2008, Fletcher Allen received state approval through the Certificate of Need process to begin a $57 million, three-year phased implementation of an electronic health record system, called PRISM, which will connect virtually every key function in the organization.  When completed, PRISM will be an institution-wide system that will allow patients’ clinical information to be electronically stored, updated and accessed instantaneously throughout Fletcher Allen, largely replacing the paper medical record in use today. 

The development of PRISM is a critical, clinical process which will help Fletcher Allen improve overall quality and patient safety while protecting the privacy of our patients’ medical information. 

The PRISM project will serve all of Fletcher Allen’s more than 30 facilities in Vermont, including the approximately 750 physicians who are credentialed at Fletcher Allen – nearly one-half of the physicians practicing in Vermont.  PRISM will be compatible with other health records systems in the state, making it a critical element in the statewide, integrated, electronic health infrastructure being coordinated through Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL), a public-private partnership designated by the Vermont legislature to lead this effort in 2007.


What are the benefits of PRISM to me, and how will it affect my care experience?

  • Enhanced Quality and Safety Measures – PRISM includes built-in, automatic checks in the electronic system to safeguard against undesirable medication and allergy interactions and incorrect dosage amounts, improving patient safety and helping us to provide you with the best care possible.
  • Confidential and Secure – We understand that patients may feel anxious about having their medical information transferred into an electronic format, and we want to assure you that your privacy will be guarded through built-in protections within the electronic health record to prevent security breaches.  Click here to read an FAQ addressing confidentiality and security questions about PRISM.
  • One Patient, One Record –All members of your care team can access your electronic record at the same time from separate clinical locations, creating a faster and more seamless care experience for you.
  • Convenient Access to Your Health Information – PRISM will eventually include a customizable web-based portal where you can quickly and easily view your health record, request routine appointments, view lab results, request medication renewals, and view your children’s medical records.  This feature is called MyChart, and will be available in 2010. 
  • Improved Communication Between Providers – PRISM enables the medical providers on your care team, including referring providers, to communicate quickly and efficiently about your care, through shared access to your electronic health record.
  • Shorter Medication Processing Time – Using an electronic health record ensures a shorter processing time between when a medication is ordered and when you, as a patient, will receive it. 
  • Leading Technology – Epic Systems, the PRISM software vendor, is one of the leading EHR vendors in the US and is utilized by such respected health care systems as Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Health and Kaiser Permanente, among others.
  • Advanced Care for the 21st Century – Hospitals all around the world are recognizing the value of applying 21st century technology to patient care to both enhance care and reduce costs, and many are switching from paper records to electronic records.  The Obama Administration is supporting these efforts by making aggressive IT investments over the next several years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health information systems, including electronic health records. 

Click here to view a short video introduced by Dr. Melinda Estes, CEO and President of Fletcher Allen, featuring a day-in-the-life look at patient care through PRISM. 

When will PRISM be operational?

PRISM will be implemented in two distinct phases, with comprehensive staff training for all users occurring during each phase:
  • Phase One: This initial stage, completed in June 2009, implemented the electronic health record across the majority of the hospital’s inpatient areas, the emergency department and the pharmacy.
  • Phase Two – This segment of the project features implementation of the electronic health record in our ambulatory (outpatient) clinics and oncology department, physician documentation templates, patient scheduling, the launch of a web site providing patient access to medical information and health education, called “My Chart,” and development of a data warehouse for reporting and analysis, to be completed by December 2010.