Calm During the
Storm
Hurricane Charley No
Match for the GEMMS ONE System
Hurricane
Charley, the most powerful storm to soak the
But this
Goliath of hurricanes was no match for the electronic clinical information
system utilized by Florida Heart Associates, a Fort Myers-based cardiology
practice. With their new
GEMMS ONE
electronic clinical information system designed and installed by GEMMS, Inc.,
Florida Heart Associates stood up to the storm in David-like fashion and was
able to ride out the hurricane knowing their practice’s vital patient medical
records and data were safe and secure far from the eye of the storm.
Florida
Heart Associates and GEMMS had to work quickly to prepare for the
hurricane. Because it is nearly
impossible to exactly pinpoint where the eye of the storm would hit, Florida
Heart administrators and GEMMS executives prepared for the worst. In the days before Charley's anticipated
arrival, GEMMS performed a file backup remotely, replicated the data at GEMMS'
headquarters in Indianapolis and then telephonically helped Florida Heart
Associates through the process of shutting down their server in preparation for
the incoming storm.
“When I
contacted GEMMS, they reacted like a family member rather than a vendor, asking
what they could do to help us avert a potential business and patient data
crisis,” explained Phil Lotti, administrator for Florida Heart Associates. “We knew our building would be subject to the
wrath of Mother Nature, but working with GEMMS, we were confident that our
patient medical records could survive any potential hit as the information was
stored safe-and-sound in Indianapolis.
GEMMS gave us the extra attention and support we needed at a time when
our practice's operations were at stake.”
“We had
every confidence we could assist Florida Heart Associates in protecting and
maintaining their patient information.
With the GEMMS ONE system, our backup retrieval and storage system
ensured their data remained secure, and that when the practice's physicians and
healthcare experts needed their patient records following the storm, they would
be available at the point-of-care,” said Larry Grider, chief operating officer,
GEMMS.
“Due to the response from GEMMS, our servers and patient
data were protected before the storm hit our community. When we reentered our building following the
hurricane, we immediately rebooted our servers without a hitch, and all systems
functioned normally, thus allowing us to treat patients without any loss of
data or healthcare information," said Lotti. "Without
the GEMMS ONE system and GEMMS' support, we would never have been able to
recover as quickly from such a natural disaster, and our patient care and
business operations would have suffered greatly. Thankfully, we were immediately back to
business as usual because of the GEMMS system."
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