Eppright Center for Physicians Opens at The Methodist Hospital

There's a place at The Methodist Hospital (TMH) where doctors can go to get "wired."

That is, if they aren't already - the new Richard H. Eppright Physician Computer Resource Center gives active TMH medical staff members a place they can go to access and build their skills using a number of computer-based programs and systems.

The center is located on the first floor of the Dunn Tower. It opened Feb. 14 as physicians and employees toured the facility.

Three permanent computer stations (and a fourth for laptop computers) allow physicians to access such applications as the Clinical Information System, the Hospital Information System, the Internet, Micromedex, office programs and others.

"We designed this center to offer hands-on training for physicians," says Dr. James Pool, an internist who is also chairman of the FORCOM (Future Operations of Resources and Computers) committee, the group that helped design the Eppright Center.

"It's a new age in health care, and everyone needs to become acquainted with new functions and skills in order to effectively serve our patients. The Eppright Center came into being because Methodist is on the forefront of developing and nuturing these new technologies, and is keenly interested in working with its medical staff to become familiar with the use of these applications," Dr. Pool continues.

He says that the Eppright Center is the only one of its kind in the United States. "There is no other facility like this devoted to the education of physicians on this technology," he adds.

As the last century raced to a close, physicians discovered that the cutting edge of medicine wasn't limited to the research laboratory and the operating room. The explosion of the computer age and the advent of the Internet, in particular, mandated that doctors become as technology-savvy as their patients.

The FORCOM committee historically dealt with operational and administrative issues related to the pharmacy and the hospital formulary. But the group began to focus on the evolution of electronic (computerized) health care delivery.

One of the members of the FORCOM committee was Dr. Richard H. Eppright, an orthopedic surgeon at Methodist. Dr. Eppright and his wife Margaret died in an automobile accident in 1997.

"It's appropriate that this Center bears his name," says Dr. Pool, "because Dick represented an important transition for physicians, and a willingness to change with time. Beyond the fact that he recognized the importance of this effort, he simply loved it."

Dr. Eppright's sons - Richard, John and James - and their families attended the open house. Ann Eppright, married to Richard, assisted in the design of the Center. Dr. Eppright's nurse of 20 years, Pat Green, and two other office staff members, Linda Estalla and Darcel Schwertfeger, were also present.

In addition to the computers and workstations, the Center is decorated with artifacts from Dr. Eppright's personal collections.

During the normal work week, the Center will be staffed by a liaison who will help physicians learn and access the applications they need.

But the Center is available to doctors any time, thanks to a James Bond-esque thumbprint "reader" that identifies authorized personnel and controls access.

- DENNY ANGELLE

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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