|
Learn more about HealthInfoNet at our redesigned website
|
|
MaineCare Rx Data To Be Added To Clinical Database
Under a new agreement soon to be executed with the state, prescription medication data on some 200,000 Mainers enrolled in MaineCare will be brought into HealthInfoNet in 2010. This will allow clinicians to better coordinate the care of MaineCare beneficiaries and reduce the number of unnecessary and duplicative prescriptions.
H1N1 Reporting
To Begin In 2010
HealthInfoNet will soon complete its linkage with Maine CDC's information system, allowing the automation of mandatory disease reporting by labs. A recent change adds H1N1 reporting to this system. This efficient reporting system will help insure that public health officials can take more immediate action to prevent the spread of dangerous diseases and other threats.
Work Group Reviews State Privacy Statutes
A Privacy Work Group has been convened by the Governor's office to determine if changes are needed in state
laws in view of the transition from paper-based records to electronic systems such as EMR and electronic health information exchanges (HIEs). The Work Group will specifically address certain conditions, such as HIV and mental health, that are subject to more rigorous protections under state law. | |
|
|
|
|
|
| "So, there I was in Rumford on Monday with a complicated patient who'd been discharged from Maine Med two weeks previously... I was able to pull up the discharge summary and print it in a fraction of the time it would have taken to call Maine Med and have them fax me the summary."
Physician in Oxford County, December, 2009
. |
|
Half Of Maine's Population Now Included In Secure Statewide Exchange
Today---after six months of clinical use---HealthInfoNet's secure clinical database contains approximately half of Maine's entire 1.3 million population. This means that clinicians participating in HealthInfoNet's two-year demonstration phase now have 24/7 access---for the first time---to critically important patient-specific data. Hundreds of physicians are now registered with HealthInfoNet. Each day, more medical care teams are accessing data to help make better-informed decisions. This has proven particularly useful in the care of more than 70,000 patients who sought care in recent months at two or more provider sites that previously did not electronically share patient data.
| |
|
"Meaningful Use" Positions Maine Providers For Higher Payments |
|
Now that Maine has become the nation's third operational statewide health information exchange, providers will be well positioned to secure substantial new federal payments and other funding. HealthInfoNet will assist Maine providers in meeting the new "meaningful use" criteria that will be used by CMS to provide payments and other reimbursement.
This winter Maine is expected to receive nearly $7 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This funding will help HealthInfoNet transition from its current 24-month demonstration phase to statewide implementation. Over time HealthInfoNet will be extended to include small and rural, unaffiliated providers, long term care, home health, behavioral health and others.
As Maine's Regional Extension Center or REC, HealthInfoNet also will make it possible to secure federal funding to offset some of the costs associated with EMR implementation. The REC will provide technical assistance to providers in the selection and installation of EMRs. |
New Health IT Office Established
In recent months the Governor's office has engaged a wide range of stakeholders to develop a comprehensive health IT strategy for Maine. It's also established a new office of the Coordinator of Health IT that will be charged with implementing this strategy and aligning various state agencies that have a role in health and health care. The federal government has required all states to take these actions as part of its overall strategy to accelerate the adoption of EMR and integrated systems such as HealthInfoNet.
In November HealthInfoNet's board of directors approved a resolution supporting the state's emerging leadership in Health IT. The resolution also reaffirms HealthInfoNet's commitment to operate Maine's statewide health information exchange as an independent, nonprofit organization. |
Clinicians See An Early Benefit From Maine's Health Information Exchange: Improved Coordination of Patient Care
Clinicians who are early-users of HealthInfoNet report substantial time savings as they and their staffs prepare for patient visits. The traditionally-cumbersome and incomplete process of assembling information via fax, phone and mail has been streamlined by HealthInfoNet's 24/7 electronic exchange.
Here's how two Maine physician described recent patient encounters:
"I recently saw a new patient in Bangor who had been discharged the day before from CMMC. My staff had gathered some of the information about the patient, but it was incomplete and scattered and would have taken me a long time to assemble. I went to HealthInfoNet and immediately accessed what I needed most: notes, most recent labs, and pathology reports. It was all there. I showed my patient what I had found and he was amazed that we had all the information right there. He was impressed that his care was so well coordinated. Had I not had access to the information, I might have ordered additional tests."
"One of my patients was seriously injured in a car accident. He was transferred to a hospital I don't have privileges at. When I found out about it, I was able to log into his HealthInfoNet record and find out what happened and review all the tests he'd had. Luckily, he survived and when he came back to see me I was much better prepared to handle his care than I would have been. I didn't have to get any information about the incident from him, which he may have not given me accurately anyway as he was unconscious for most of it. I avoided duplicating a number of services I would have otherwise provided, and I was able to provide him the emotional support he needed to continue his recovery. In this case, HIN saved the system money, saved me time, and improved the quality of care for the patient."
Franklin's EHR Transition Featured in National Health IT Magazine
A story in a recent edition of Health Data Management magazine tells how Franklin Memorial Hospital recovered from a bad experience with its first attempt at introducing electronic health records at the 10 physician practices it owns. For Franklin Memorial's first foray into ambulatory EHRs, the hospital's main criterion was the ability to integrate with the hospital's inpatient system. Usability for physicians wasn't given a lot of weight, and the lack of it doomed the project, said Jay Naliboff, M.D. an obstetrician/gynecologist who is also medical director for primary care. As a result, physicians at the initial particpating practices were stuck with an EHR they didn't like, and the rest didn't want to be in their shoes, according to the magazine. This winter the hospital's practices will begin use of a new system that was chosen with greater physician involvement in the selection process. Franklin is the only independent rural hospital participating in HealthInfoNet's current 24-month demonstration phase.
| |
|
|
|
|
