Since its founding, the Palo Alto Medical Center has been at the forefront of medicine, embracing innovation as a core principle. Today, it remains a leader in the rapidly evolving health care industry with numerous state-of-the-art programs and technologies.

• Advanced Access
• Electronic Health Records
• Imaging
• High-Tech Treatment
• PAMFOnline

Advanced Access

In February 2002, the Palo Alto Division began implementing a scheduling system in which patients are offered a same-day appointment in primary care departments, generally with their own physician, and within five to 10 days for specialty care departments. The system, called Advanced Access, reduces appointment wait times and allows physicians to focus more fully on patient care. Patient feedback and data have shown that Advanced Access is meeting its goals to improve patient access, satisfaction and efficiency of care.


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Electronic Health Records

In 1999, PAMF’s Palo Alto Division implemented its electronic health records (EHR) system, making it one of the earliest adopters of this technology and one of the few physician groups in the Bay Area to have such a system. EHRs allow physicians and clinical staff at any PAMF facility to access patient information, such as a patient's medical history and laboratory results. The EHR allows medical providers to:

• Detail interactions with patients
  
• View medical history and insurance information
  
• Order tests and see test results
  
• Make referrals
  
• Send electronic prescription requests to pharmacies.

EHRs also provide clinical guidelines for physicians, printed summaries of visits for patients and other services. PAMF continually adds new features to the system to improve delivery of patient care.

Read more about www.pamf.org/ehr.
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Imaging

The Palo Alto Division's main campus in Palo Alto houses some of the most advanced medical imaging technology available –- including CT, MRI and PET/CT –- and serves as a demonstration site for manufacturers to showcase their latest products in action. The Department of Radiology is moving toward a "filmless" environment and has a specialized cardiac MRI machine that provides a more accurate picture of the heart than does a traditional MRI.
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High-Tech Treatment

The Palo Alto Medical Center has always been an early adopter of new treatment technology, such as the use of lasers in eye surgery during the 1960s. More recently, the Department of Radiation Oncology became one of the first outpatient sites in the country to offer two advanced radiation therapy techniques for cancer patients. Physicians and technicians use computer simulations to view the cancerous area in three dimensions, then employ sophisticated linear accelerators to deliver radiation to the tumor more precisely than was previously possible.
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PAMFOnline

Palo Alto and Santa Cruz region patients have access to our e-health service PAMFOnline, one of the most comprehensive Web-based health services in the country. Patients can use PAMFOnline to view key components of their PAMF electronic health record (EHR), request appointments and prescription renewals, access test results and receive customized health news and information. For a nominal annual subscription fee, patients can also use PAMFOnline to communicate electronically with their PAMF physician and advice nurses.

Learn more at www.pamfonline.org.
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