Sharp, UCSD scramble to manage patient expectations in North County

It will likely take years for Sharp HealthCare and UC San Diego Health to integrate Tri-City Medical Center and Palomar Health into their electronic records systems, but existing patients are demanding access now, forcing the medical providers to look for ways to shorten the timeline.

Sharp began running Tri-City on July 1, the same day that UCSD finalized a joint powers agreement with Palomar, and both organizations put their logos on the buildings of their new partners up north. These very visible changes have increased the expectations of both providers’ existing patients eager to avoid long trips to San Diego for hospital care.

A recent example was highlighted online by Vista resident and small business owner Jen Drury, who posted on social media about taking her husband, a longtime Sharp member, to Sharp Tri-City Medical Center, which Sharp started running on July 1. Previously, getting care for his complex medical situation required traveling to Sharp facilities in San Diego, so seeing the provider’s familiar logo on a hospital much closer to home was exciting. But the couple quickly found that the doctors and nurses at the Oceanside hospital had no access to Sharp’s electronic medical records system and thus were unable to quickly get up to speed on his care.