MORGANTOWN, WV – West Virginia University Hospitals went live this weekend with Merlin, a $90 million electronic medical records project, as part of its "Wave 2" implementation.

The 531-bed teaching hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., has been transitioning from a paper-based system to an automated one for almost three years.

"The system will be 'paper light' in many areas and paperless in others, such as lab test results," said Claudia Wilhelm, director of clinical operations for the project.

Less than a year ago, WVU rolled out "Wave 1," which focused on the use of Merlin for most of the business operations like registration and appointment scheduling.

All of WVU's sites will be using software from the Verona, Wis.-based Epic Systems Corporation.

WVU serves as a teaching hospital for West Virginia University and is part of the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center.

All healthcare provider orders and patient information will be automated in an online system available to about 5,000 licensed users, including approximately 500 physicians. The system contains built-in privacy guarantees, with only individuals involved in the patient's treatment allowed to access the electronic record.

"We are proud of the hard work our employees have done to create this significant, positive change for our patients," said Ann Chinnis, MD, executive director of the project. "As everyone from President-elect Obama down has observed, electronic records don't just save money, but they also make healthcare safer."

WVU officials expect to roll out additional Merlin features in 2009. For example, patients soon will be able to access their records electronically via WVUMyChart.