IT

The Cutting Edge of Technology

The Information Technology department helps maintain patient privacy and increase efficiency.

Written by Kimberly Durment Locke Photographed by Micheal Neveux

Safeguarding patient information by providing physicians and staff with the most updated technical resources is at the forefront of Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s Information Technology (IT) department. Bernadette “Bernie” Reid leads these efforts and serves as vice president of information technology and chief information officer. In her role, Reid acknowledges, it’s about leveraging technology to advance clinical and business goals, improve the patient experience, create efficiencies for our workforce and secure the information to which we’ve been entrusted.

This would not be possible without the talented and well-rounded IT department comprised of the following teams: clinical core integration and informatics, imaging, business and financial systems, networking and hosting, telecommunications, physician network support, desktop support, service desk, media services, and information security.

Keeping pace with technology

“IT is challenging because change is constant, and the demands on resources continue to increase,“ Reid says. “Change occurs faster than ever before. It’s important to keep pace with the evolution because it can mean adopting better technology for the end users that is easier to support and more costeffective,” she explains.

The IT infrastructure and operations team work to ensure our network and core systems have high availability with minimal downtime. Torrance Memorial Medical Center, the Hunt Cancer Center, Specialty Center, Skypark, Urgent Care and TMPN physician offices, the El Segundo Medical Building and satellite imaging centers are just some of the buildings supported by the network infrastructure teams.

On a daily basis, team helps the organization solve complex IT problems with more than 8,000 calls per month to its 24/7 service desk from physicians, employees, vendors, contractors and volunteers. The service desk triages calls and routes them when appropriate to the team with the expertise to address the issue or inquiry.

Physicians and clinical integration

Helping bridge the gap between the hospital, IT support staff and physicians is the unique approach Torrance Memorial has taken by adding a physician to the IT team. Gina Sulmeyer, MD, is the executive director of medical informatics and chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Sulmeyer works full-time in her IT role and half-time in the emergency department.

“The benefits of having a physician with clinical knowledge and technical understanding on the IT team is huge,” says Reid. “Physicians need to talk with other physicians about how they use and improve the system.

Dr. Sulmeyer’s role brings medical staff and IT professionals together by participating in nearly 40 committees involving different areas of the hospital. These committees address daily projects designed to optimize the IT user experience and educate physicians to understand what is or could be available technology-wise. Dr. Sulmeyer has a strong affinity for problem-solving, and her interest in technology makes it more collaborative and, therefore, a more successful experience.

The IT security team must keep current with the latest threat intelligence, manage system vulnerabilities and educate the workforce. Information Security Manager, Brad Cohen

Cyber security and awareness training

The technology landscape has changed dramatically throughout the years. Most paramount are the increasing numbers of cyberattacks in today’s health care industry. Monitoring threats to Torrance Memorial’s technology infrastructure and confidential data requires looking ahead and implementing IT security controls. Torrance Memorial’s IT security team must keep current with the latest threat intelligence, manage system vulnerabilities and educate the workforce.

There are approximately 25,000 devices connected to the hospital network at any given time. Some of those include medical devices, such as intravenous pumps, making it imperative the team is constantly monitoring the system from within and paying attention to outside threats and international patterns to be fully aware of any potential hazards and prevent unauthorized access.

New features and fixes such as security patches for installed systems and devices are rolling out rapidly, and the reality is not all software fixes can be seamlessly implemented. They can trigger unanticipated issues with other aspects of the system, requiring additional time and expertise by the IT team to resolve.

Torrance Memorial provides cybersecurity awareness training to inform the workforce of cyber threats. They often issue reminders about computer protection and updates to thwart potential issues, some of which could prove crippling to the hospital’s IT infrastructure. Just one instance of malware on a USB memory stick inserted into a computer connected to the network could impact the entire system.

Have you ever been deceived by malicious phishing emails designed to obtain personal user information and passwords? To increase user awareness as well as the detection of phishing emails, the IT security team sends monthly “test” phishing emails appearing to be legitimate. Once a user clicks on a link within a phishing email from IT security, they receive a message indicating the email was a test only and are cautioned to avoid real phishing emails. Sometimes they are prompted to take a phishing quiz to refresh their knowledge on what to look out for.

Protecting patient data

Torrance Memorial uses Cerner Millennium, an integrated platform for electronic health records. Additional Cerner applications are used in registration, scheduling, billing, pharmacy, laboratory, emergency management, operating room, physician offices, urgent care and other hospital-based outpatient departments. These applications store sensitive patient health information and are protected by multiple layers of authentication for access.

Torrance Memorial also supports a health information exchange platform that facilitates the sharing of information among local, regional and national institutions. We currently share patient data

with Cedars-Sinai, Memorial Care, some Kaiser facilities and a national health information exchange called CommonWell Health Alliance. Providers access these systems with the same level of security as the local systems. Patients must consent to share access to the data and acknowledge that doing so improves patient care across the board.

There are several security levels for safeguarding electronic health records for staff and physicians. Users are assigned a login after going through orientation, credentialing, background checks, education and written consent to adhere to privacy practices. They are given a password for the system from an approved device and must use multifactor authentication for remote access.

Improving the patient experience

With patient safety at the forefront of the IT department, the next strategic initiative for the team is supporting Torrance Memorial’s digital strategy to improve the patient experience. This effort refers to the “digital front door” experience. The IT team works with various groups within the organization to make the patient experience a good one while improving efficiency for the staff.

“Patients prefer convenient communication options with their care team, such as receiving appointment reminders by text message versus a phone call. Or using telehealth in place of an in-office visit,” explains Reid.

The need for telehealth visits between physicians and patients increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Torrance Memorial continues to evaluate technology solutions that will streamline the process of scheduling visits, sending appointment reminders and introducing bidirectional communications, making it possible for patients to communicate with a live person.

There’s also the option for patients to establish an account on Torrance Memorial’s Patient Portal, a web service or mobile application that gives them access to their records and results and can integrate billing information, forms, immunization records and appointment scheduling. The portal also integrates with Apple Heath, allowing patients to share information with other health care professionals. Patients must have their identity verified by the Patient Access representatives and then enroll in the system. They choose a username and password to access their records. Results are released to the portal after they are finalized, as required by law.

IT takes a team

Torrance Memorial’s IT department is firmly committed to keeping pace with the latest software and updates, computer and information security, guarding against cyberattacks, offering patients a fully digital experience, and ensuring physicians can access and understand the technology available. It is their mission to protect patient information and support the IT needs of our physicians and staff. It takes an extraordinary team of many. •