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SHIP's Impact on North Dakota

Since the program began (2002) each of North Dakota’s 36 eligible small rural hospitals has received an average of $9,000 each year. To date, the total impact to North Dakota is $2.3 million. The Annual SHIP Report for 2008-2009 is now available.

Thirty-five direct hospital awards of $7,750 for a total of $271,250 were distributed as follows:

  • Computer purchases – 69%
  • Education and training of hospital staff on information systems – 17%
  • Payment system processes – 14%

Computer Purchases

  • Twelve hospitals will purchase computers (desktops and/or laptops). The computers will be used for a wide range of options such as: allowing ancillary departments to obtain access to patient information and scheduling; provide computers to providers and nursing staff; use for employee training in a classroom setting; and, new employee orientation.
  • Three hospitals will purchase printers to print records and educational materials.
  • Two hospitals will use the funds to purchase a narcotic cabinet, which is a physical hardware component of the Omnicell system that provides increased control of medications dispensed thus preventing serious medication errors.
  • Fourteen hospitals will purchase software. The software will allow pharmacists to check medications as they are prescribed to ensure that they will not adversely interact with another medication currently prescribed; check patient information; pull patient information to generate forms; allow the hospital to access a collection of different drug databases, allow physicians and other healthcare practitioners to access their patient’s records locally or remotely, provide a “closed-loop” medication administration process.
  • Six hospitals will use the funds to purchase subscriptions to online data collection systems. Four will renew their access to the Clarity Healthcare Safety Zone Portal. One will pay for a subscription to Healthcare Academy online healthcare education program. One will pay for participation in the Healthcare Academy online healthcare education program (providing an opportunity to train all staff in a simple Windows based computer program, facilitate an improvement in all staff’s computer skills, and reduce apprehension, anxiety, and improve acceptance towards an eventual implementation of an EMR).  One hospital will pay their annual fee for electronic access for claims submissions and their annual fee for their encoder software.
  • Two hospitals will purchase scanners for converting current paper documents to an electronic format.
  • Two hospitals will use the funds to purchase wireless bar-code scanners to use for electronic inventory and medication dispensing purposes.
  • Four hospitals will purchase various hardware items. These items include: updates to their current outdated hardware; docking station; three dual monitor screens along with stands and dual display video cards; hardware to assist in the training of employees in the implementation of EMR; and, hardware needed to connect analyzers to a Laboratory Information System.
  • One hospital will purchase a Blade Server to use in a data center shared amongst 10 hospitals in an HIT consortium.
  • Two hospitals will use the funds to purchase carts that accommodate drawers for medication dispensing and an integrated system to support computer access that allows for flexible and portable access.
  • One hospital will purchase a digital camera so that a patient’s photo can be permanently attached to their record.
  • One hospital will purchase secure wireless Internet for use in the implementation of electronic medical records (the computer system used to transport the data will need to be secure and HIPAA compliant).

Education and Training

  • Two hospitals will use funding for quality improvement and patient care software training.
  • Four hospitals will use funding for electronic billing and coding training.
  • Six hospitals will use funding for training employees on their electronic medical records (EMR) system. This training will include registration, access, utilization, and upgrades.
  • Two hospitals will use funding for computer programming training for the information systems employee.
  • Seven hospitals will use the funding for clinical and financial software training,
  • One hospital will use the funds for compliance education for a mandatory in-service.

Payment System Process

  • Three hospitals will use the funds to conduct a chargemaster review to assure accurate and compliant charging practices.
  • One hospital would use the funding to send employees to complete needed medical coding and insurance classes at an area college.
  • One hospital will work with a health services accounting firm to develop and implement successful strategies for cost reports; cost report management training, comprehensive chargemaster review, on-site training, and support for facility administration, practitioners and billing staff.
  • One hospital will hire a consultant to perform a chart review. The consultant will also provide an onsite educational visit to review the findings of the audit with the hospital staff.