ARIZONA SUMMER
WILDCAT
Gov. Jan Brewer signs space flight bill - 5
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2014
UA Baseball stays active during offseason - 10
VOLUME 107 • ISSUE 154
DAILYWILDCAT.COM
Printing the news, sounding the alarm, and raising hell since 1899
Night Wings at the Museum -16
WORLD CUP FEVER
Open carry may go too far, even for NRA - 8
UA Health Network falls into the red BY MEREDITH MORRISSEY
INSIDE:
Arizona Summer Wildcat
NEWS: Fans watch US vs. Portugal - 7 SPORTS: How far can the USMNT go?- 10 MONSOON: Sound and Fury of World Cup - 16 SAVANNAH DOUGLAS/ARIZONA SUMMER WILDCAT
ERIN POWERS roots for the U.S. team during the FIFA World Cup 2-2 draw against Portugal at No Anchovies on Sunday. Powers brought her puppy Boris to support the U.S.
The UA Health Network reported approximately $28.5 million in operating loss this fiscal year, largely due to the implementation of a new electronic medical record system. According to reports, the total cost of the Epic electronic record system was an estimated $115 million, including $32 million in unbudgeted costs for the first eight months of the fiscal year. Much of the expenses can be blamed on scheduling cutbacks for physicians during the training period, said Dr. Kwan Lee, director of the University of Arizona Medical Center — South Campus cardiology clinic. Lee said the adjustment period to the Epic system was difficult and expensive since every person in the system had to be trained. “Some degree of initial adjustment and losses were expected,” Lee said. The Epic system also resulted in the layoffs of 23 UA Health Network staffers in the recordkeeping department as it eliminated the need for their jobs. “Whenever you go into a more efficient system, some [jobs] are going to be redundant, but it does create jobs in other arenas,” Lee said. “Whenever you have a technology shift within the system you are going to find that some services will no longer be required and some new services will be created.” To offset implementation costs, federal agencies are providing incentive payments to encourage healthcare providers to adopt the electronic health record systems, Lee said. Lee also said he expects the system will eventually save the network money because of its increased efficiency. The Epic system will bring uniformity to the UA Health Network, which previously had
UAHN, 3