Physicians from Australia Visit Lafayette General Medical Center

Physicians from Australia visited Lafayette General Medical Center (LGMC) on Tuesday to learn firsthand the benefits of a new electronic anesthesia record keeping system utilized by the hospital’s Surgery Department.

Members of LGMC’s Information Services Department welcomed Paul Myles, M.D., Director of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, and Mark Buckland, M.D., Deputy Director of Anesthesia and Head of Cardiothoracic Transplant Anesthesia, both from Alfred Health in Melbourne, Australia. The physicians were attending the International Anesthesia Convention in New Orleans this week. With interest in acquiring a similar system from Cerner Corporation, a side trip to the Lafayette hospital was intended to see the specialized record system in action. Drs. Myles and Buckland report that there is no facility in Australia with this service.

The electronic anesthesia record allows the automatic and reliable collection, storage and presentation of patient data before and after a patient’s surgery.

Cerner Corporation is a global supplier of information, technology solutions, devices and hardware that optimizes processes for health care organizations. This is LGMC’s second international visit, as a reference site for Cerner, from health care professionals interested in updating their record-keeping technology.

While at LGMC, the physicians were also interested in the hospital’s new joint replacement program. Recently, LGMC acquired MAKOplasty, a total hip and partial knee replacement procedure using 3-D and a robotic arm technology. The device offers surgeons more accuracy, precision and control. LGMC is the only hospital in Acadiana to use this innovative technology.