Company profile
Frederick Health is a community-focused health system in Maryland dedicated to positively impacting the well-being of every individual it serves. With more than 4,000 team members and a growing network of over 25 locations, the organization is committed to delivering accessible, comprehensive, and patient-centered care across a range of specialties.
The challenge
Like many healthcare organizations, Frederick Health had long grappled with the complexity of managing accurate, up-to-date problem lists. Over time, the accumulation of entries from multiple care settings and historical records created redundancy and inconsistency – making it difficult for clinicians to quickly identify the most relevant information.
These challenges became more apparent as clinicians and patients alike gained greater visibility into the EHR. Providers, especially those reviewing discharge summaries, struggled with problem lists that spanned multiple pages. Meanwhile, on the ambulatory side, patients reviewing their records through the patient portal raised concerns about outdated or inaccurate problems.
“We were hearing from patients who’d say, ‘That’s not an active condition,’ or ‘That’s something from years ago,’” said Dr. Kristin Conley, CMIO at Frederick Health. “It was clear that we needed a better way to track, manage, and clean up the problem list.”
To measure the impact of their efforts, the team conducted a Data Quality Assessment (DQA) with IMO Health after implementing IMO Core, a documentation tool that simplifies problem list management. The results confirmed their suspicions: prior to cleanup, nearly half of the problems on their lists had been redundant or duplicative.
The solution
With clear evidence from the DQA, Frederick Health implemented IMO Core across both inpatient and ambulatory settings. The rollout was supported by strong internal governance and proactive change management, coordinated by Dr. Conley through physician advisory committees.
One of the most impactful features was categorization. By organizing problems into specialty-specific sections – such as cardiology or oncology – providers gained clearer ownership over relevant areas of the list. This helped prevent the accidental deletion of important issues and made it easier for specialists to focus on problems tied to their domain.
“Before IMO Core, ED and hospitalist providers would sometimes remove oncology problems because they didn’t see their relevance,” said Jackie Rice, CIO. “Now, with categorization, it’s much easier to see what belongs to whom. That’s been a huge improvement.”
Within six months of go-live, the clutter rate had dropped from 45% to 34%. Eighteen months later, it was down to just 9%.
Patients also noticed the difference. Fewer complaints surfaced about outdated or incorrect conditions in the portal. Providers, too, found the new structure easier to navigate. Tools that allowed problems to be quickly moved to history helped maintain the list’s accuracy – without compromising critical information.
Frederick Health also emphasized the importance of problem list stewardship. Through governance, they defined responsibility for who “owns” the problem list at each stage of care – hospitalists at discharge, primary care during wellness visits, and specialists for ongoing chronic management.
“It’s not just about cleanup,” said Dr. Conley. “It’s about making sure the problem list reflects the real complexity of the patient. That supports better care and more accurate coding.”
Looking ahead
With IMO Core, Frederick Health transformed its problem list from a cluttered data repository into a trusted clinical tool. Providers now spend less time sifting through irrelevant details and more time focused on meaningful care decisions. Patients benefit from greater transparency and more accurate records. And the organization as a whole sees clearer connections between documentation, coding, and value-based care initiatives.
As the team looks ahead, Frederick Health is continuing to explore new ways to streamline clinical workflows and support providers. The success of IMO Core has sparked broader conversations about how structured, specialty-driven organization can benefit other areas of documentation.
By partnering closely with IMO Health, the organization remains engaged in collaborative discussions around future capabilities, ensuring that technology evolves in step with the needs of clinicians and patients.
