Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center
E-Medical Records Goal of Panel
By Jan Biles
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently awarded more than $9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to the Kansas Health Information Exchange Project to help improve the exchange of health records at the state level.
The project is designed to help achieve a national goal of every American having an electronic health record by 2014.
"This announcement is great news for Kansas as it will bring countless opportunities in terms of creating jobs, advancing technology and reducing our overall health care costs," Gov. Mark Parkinson said.
Aaron Dunkel, deputy secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said that agency is the state designee for health information technology and is facilitating health care providers' efforts to adopt and use electronic health records in a meaningful manner.
Dunkel said the chief goal of electronic medical records is to improve the quality and efficiency of health care by allowing health care providers and other stakeholders to share data related to a patient's care.
For example, he said, if a person walked into a hospital emergency room for treatment, health care providers immediately would be able to access the person's electronic medical record even if he had never been seen at the hospital before. Not only would health care be provided quicker, but it also would be based on full knowledge of the patient's condition.
E-medical records, Dunkel said, will create a more patient-centered experience and minimize redundant health care procedures.
Dunkel said KDHE has formed an e-Health Advisory Council of stakeholders from more than 30 health care organizations to guide the planning and implementation of health information exchange in Kansas.
This group is divided into workgroups, which are looking at five areas of the project: governance, technology, business operations, finance and legal.
In addition to the money awarded to the Health Information Exchange Project, Topeka-based Kansas Foundation for Medical Care Inc. has received a $7 million ARRA grant for a four-year project to provide direct clinical and technical assistance to priority primary-care providers in Kansas as they transition from paper to electronic health records.
KFMC is one of about 70 nonprofit regional extension centers expected to be set up across the nation to provide outreach and support services to at least 100,000 primary care providers within the next two years.
Mike Aldridge, health information technology regional center director at the Kansas Foundation for Medical Care, said his agency recently sent out";letters of interest"; to Kansas health care providers to gauge interest in the assistance.
"More than 1,600 providers have returned them,"; he said, adding each regional center is expected to serve at least 1,000 health care providers within its first year of operation.
Aldridge said KFMC will focus on helping health care providers in individual or small group practices — internists, obstetrician/gynecologists, family physicians, pediatricians — who provide care to the medically underserved, underinsured or uninsured. The agency will help implement electronic health records systems, select vendors, adjust work flow and ensure criteria are met, among other things.
Aldridge said KFMC will use its existing staff and hire an additional 16 to 20 workers. Health care providers using its service will be charged "a modest fee," he said.
His agency is working with KDHE, the e-Health Advisory Council, Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved and other partners to maximize services to Kansans.
Aldridge said Kansas is "well-positioned" to implement health information technology that will benefit patients and health care providers.
"The right people are working together to make sure we're pulling in the same direction," he said.
Jan Biles can be reached at (785) 295-1292 or jan.biles@cjonline.com.
Article obtained from Topeka Capital Journal – 2/22/2010