By BBGH
Alliance- After over a year of preparing, Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) and Greater Nebraska Medical and Surgical Services (GNMSS) will be converting to a new Electronical Health Record (EHR) system, MEDITECH Expanse, starting May 1.
An EHR is an electronical version of a patient’s medical history, which is maintained by the provider over time. It includes key clinical data related to the patient’s care under that specific provider.
Because of the conversion, patients that have appointments scheduled on or after May 1 will need to bring their current ID (driver’s license), insurance card(s), current medications, and a valid email and phone number.
“The only information that Meditech will carry forward from the old system is your name and date of birth,” BBGH Nurse Manager Veronica Golden said. “While we will still be able to access your old medical records, it will be important for you to bring your ID card, insurance cards, and all of your medications in to your first visit after May 1 so it can be entered into the new system, allowing your care team to have the proper information to care for you and bill insurance for your services.”
There may be longer wait times than usual as the Admissions/Registrations teams processes patient information at check in due to the conversion. We ask that patients be forgiving and patient with the staff during this time.
To help patients bring in their medications, BBGH is providing a Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) bag. Bags can be found at the registration desks located in the ER, the Main Entrance, and the GNMSS entrance of BBGH. Patients can also pick up a bag from Dave’s Pharmacy in Alliance and Hemingford, Alliance Community Pharmacy, Safeway Pharmacy, the Alliance Recreation Center (ARC), the Alliance Senior Center, and the Alliance Public Transit.
The conversion will also bring changes to patient billing statements. Any billable service provided up to May 1 will be billed in the current EHR system. Patients that have account balances in the current EHR will continue to receive statements from that system until that balance is paid. Starting May 1, any billable service will be billed in the new EHR system. This means that two statements will be generated. Statements from the current system will be printed on blue paper and statements generated on the new EHR will be printed on green paper.
After patients have been entered into the MEDITECH Expanse system, they will be able to enroll in the new patient portal, Meditech MHealth. The portal will allow you or an authorized family member to access billing statements and submit payments, view and request appointments, request prescription renewals, review your lab results, pre-register for your visit, update personal information, view visit history and discharge information, and securely message with your care team.
Box Butte General Hospital is the successor of St. Joseph Hospital, serving the healthcare needs of Box Butte County and the surrounding area since 1976. BBGH is a non-profit facility, dedicated to serving the needs of residents and visitors alike. Box Butte General Hospital is accredited by The Joint Commission, the nation's predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare since 1951.
BBGH is a Critical Access Hospital with 25-beds for all patient types- acute, observation, swing, intensive care, etc.- with a staff of over 275 employees providing a variety of services. Box Butte General Hospital is an equal opportunity provider and employer.