Elizabeth Vaughn (seated, second from left), an IT staff nurse at the University of Mississippi, and Alex Langhart, director of University Health Services, participate in a panel discussion at the annual Medicat national conference. Submitted photo
OXFORD, Miss – Two University of Mississippi Health Services officials discussed a variety of topics affecting college health during a recent panel session at a nationwide conference for college and health care professionals.
Elizabeth Vaughn, IT staff nurse, and Alex Langhart, director of University Health Services, represented the university at the national conference, where more than 100 representatives from various colleges across the country gathered. The conference took place Oct. 15-17 in Atlanta.
Medicat is the vendor of the new electronic health record, or EHR, system used by University Health Services for records of student and employee visits. Each year, Medicat hosts an annual conference providing universities with opportunities to connect with one another.
“The panel was made up of four university representatives and answered questions related to their practices in front of all conference attendees,” Langhart said. “The panel discussed a variety of topics impacting college health. This included budget concerns, staffing models, insurance billing, access for LGBTQ+ students and general practice workflow.”
Both Vaughn and Langhart were asked to represent UM on this panel to provide perspective on the question, “What are some of the challenges you face in health care at the college level?” The panel members were given several topics to be prepared to discuss.
“I was asked about handling staffing issues and how we handle that across the clinic,” Vaughn said. “I also talked about how we manage the flow of the clinic with nurse-to-provider ratios.”
Vaughn also discussed hurdles the Ole Miss clinic had to overcome in implementing the new EHR system both in student and employee health.
Vaughn was in charge of helping implement the new system and led nurses and physicians through six months of training with the new system before it launched. She provided training modules and one-on-one help to prepare users for the new system.
“We did a lot of training prior to using the system for the first time when the students came in,” she said.
University Health Services has a staff of seven full-time nurses, who work together as a team to take care of students and employees on campus.
The system has increased efficiency for nurses and doctors by streamlining the process in both the student and employee clinics. The system also provides students more freedom and information up front.