This month marks the one-year anniversary of VUMC’s transition to eStar, and, as expected, there have been challenges and successes along the way.

Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) and Senior Vice President of Health Information Technology, will step down from his role as leader of Vanderbilt University Medical Center HealthIT on Jan. 1, 2019.

Last week Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) switched to a new computer system for electronic health records, ordering of tests and drugs, supporting inpatient and outpatient care delivery, billing and other hospital and clinic operations.

On Nov. 2, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) will switch to a new computer system, called eStar, which will support the health system’s electronic health records, workflows for inpatient and outpatient care delivery, test ordering, billing and other hospital and clinic operations.

EpicLeap, a project that will transform patient care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) through new technology and processes, started in 2015 with a notification from a technology vendor. A few of the key pieces of software VUMC uses to currently provide care were no longer going to be supported by the vendor. Vanderbilt’s HealthIT team was then faced with a crucial decision — they could provide support for the software bundle themselves, upgrade to the vendor’s suggested replacements, or consider a totally different solution altogether.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s leadership in embracing medical technology has once again resulted in the institution being named among the nation’s “most wired” hospitals and health systems.