Inside Duke Medicine

Duke’s Maestro Care implementation a new era for Duke Medicine

Duke Medicine stands on the threshold of a new era with the rapidly approaching start of Duke’s Maestro Care implementation. 

When Wave 1 goes live July 18 in all Duke Primary Care sites, the way we care for patients, conduct research and train medical learners will begin to change forever. 

There are many reasons for implementing a single, fully integrated electronic health record (EHR). None is more important than the single reason that unifies all others – our core value of “Caring for our patients, their loved ones, and each other,” supported by our affiliated values of excellence, teamwork and safety.

Implementing Maestro Care doesn’t stop with those who provide direct patient care. Its success will require the focused energies of every employee and every part of Duke Medicine. It’s also a priority for the federal government, which is pushing for use of EHRs and will provide substantial reimbursements for system-wide EHRs implemented by July 2013. 

“This is a historic, transformative moment for Duke Medicine,” said Art Glasgow, chief information officer. “Maestro Care fits squarely into our broader IT strategy of giving our providers the tools they need to make the best decisions with the best information possible.” 

“Maestro Care will take us much closer to our vision of one Duke Medicine,” said Victor J. Dzau, M.D., chancellor for health affairs and president and CEO of Duke University Health System. 

Maestro Care was selected after careful consideration of many options. 

It is much more than a sophisticated computer software installation that will address inefficiency in current technology applications and replace the more than 135 clinical technology applications now in use across Duke Medicine. It’s also a powerful organizational concept of greater integration and teamwork supported by a computerized tool. 

None of the many significant functions Maestro Care performs, however, will be more important than its ability to enhance patient care by putting patient information at the fingertips of physicians and other care team members. 

Patients no longer will have to answer the same background questions, or undergo redundant tests, at a Duke clinic or hospital or at each Duke provider they visit. For care team members, it means less uncertainty, more accuracy and fewer chances for errors. 

Maestro Care’s technology also will offer a powerful resource for Duke’s world-class medical researchers by giving them better ways to generate new knowledge. 

And Maestro Care synchs up with the increasingly data-intensive mindset of future generations of Duke medical residents, as well as significantly helping with the education process itself by providing feedback to learners and evaluating the effectiveness of  Duke’s teaching efforts and curriculum.