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This paper describes the integration of Hartford Hospital's current 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) software with the hospital's information systems (admit, discharge, transfer (ADT); orders; and billing) by engineering a Health Level Seven Standard Interface (HL7) specifically for the hospital's unique software amalgamation. Data formats for the wireless transmission of information were investigated. Distinctive requirements, work-flow, and validation procedures for interfacing the 12-lead ECG system using the HL7 standard were configured. Lastly, the implementation of a wireless transmission component was also developed so completed ECGs could be instantaneously sent to the ECG software directly from the ECG machine, where the analysis was performed. Spectrum analysis was utilized to scrutinize the hospital's current unique wireless infrastructure.

This article describes the integration of Hartford Hospital's current 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) software with the hospital's information systems (admit, discharge, transfer; orders; and billing) by engineering a Health Level Seven Standard Interface specifically for the hospital's unique software amalgamation. Data formats for the wireless transmission of information were investigated. Distinctive requirements, workflow, and validation procedures for interfacing the 12-lead ECG system using the Health Level Seven Standard Interface standard were configured. Lastly, the implementation of a wireless transmission component was also developed, so completed ECGs could be instantaneously sent to the ECG software directly from the ECG machine, where the analysis was performed. Spectrum analysis was used to scrutinize the hospital's current unique wireless infrastructure.Hartford Hospital currently uses General Electric's Marquette Universal System for Electrocardiography (MUSE) software for electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis and acquisition. While the software, as configured, was effective for physicians reviewing a patient's ECG waves, the system, as it was, had no way of interfacing with the hospital's ordering software, Sunrise Clinical Manager (SCM). With this lack of communication between SCM and MUSE, many physicians have been reading, confirming, and processing ECGs for billing that have no associated order.This current workflow has created many concerns at Hartford Hospital in regard to reimbursement and especially compliance. Electrocardiograms that are processed without an order are lacking pivotal information such as a clinical indicator and the prescriber who placed the order.Without this information, reimbursement companies, such as Medicare and Medicaid, refuse to reimburse the hospital. This results in hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue lost annually.To ameliorate this problem, a Health Level Seven Standard Interface (HL7) was implemented into Hartford Hospital's current ECG system. 1 The HL7 interface brings together the hospital's existing orders; admit, discharge, transfer [ADT]; and results and billing software. Upon completion of this integration, every ECG taken in the hospital can be effortlessly associated with an order when an ECG is performed electronically from the ECG device. All of the ECG machines will be made wireless.Upon completion of this project, all ECG orders entered in SCM will be transmitted via the HL7 server to the MUSE software. With this wireless connection to the MUSE server, an ECG order can be selected on the mobile ECG machine and associated with the patient. When the ECG is completed, it can be transmitted wirelessly back to the MUSE software with the associated order attached. The ECG can then be reviewed and resulted by a physician with all the appropriate demographics corresponding to the patient. The ECG result will then be sent back to SCM and attached to the patient's permanent electronic record and will also be sent for reimbursement.This implementation ...