Health information exchanges often involve organizations with little in common – sometimes a recipe for failure. Transforming Healthcare in Connecticut Communities (THICC) hopes to change that by bringing a key ingredient to the table.
That ingredient is an EHR framework supplied by Chicago-based Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions.
THICC includes 20 hospitals, several health centers and a number of physician organizations spread across Connecticut. While other EHR systems will be linked to the network, members ProHealth Physicians, Hartford Health Care, Saint Francis Care, the Connecticut MultiSpecialty Group, the Connecticut Surgical Group, HealthWise physicians and the Hospitals of Central Connecticut all use Allscripts’ EHR. They’re subsidizing the cost of implementing Allscripts’ EHR and encouraging physicians to subscribe to the company’s free, Web-based electronic prescribing solution.
“We’re on the front-end of a readiness that hasn’t been there,” said Pat Montanaro, the EHR director for Hartford Health Care, which helped launch the coalition. ‘The level of buy-in is great.”
Montanaro said the HIE’s goal is to link participating organizations through their EHRs, allowing for the sharing of data. She added quickly that the group isn’t interested in storing or owning the data, only providing access to those who need it to improve clinical outcomes.
“THICC will help address the decentralized and fragmented nature of our healthcare delivery system and contribute to improved quality and better safety for patients across Connecticut,” said Stephan O’Neill, vice president of information services at Hartford Health Care. “With the passage of the stimulus law and the availability of incentives for physicians to adopt electronic health records, it’s clear that a tipping point has been reached and the time has come for us to provide the linking bridge between all of the applications used by healthcare providers.”
Beginning in 2010, Hartford Health Care and ProHealth Physicians will offer Allscripts Practice Management to THICC members. Physicians will be encouraged to implement the billing, scheduling and revenue cycle management solution to better connect their back-office functions with the EHR.
“The potential to improve patient care and safety by providing access to vital, integrated clinical information is an imperative for our industry,” said Christopher Dadlez, CEO of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, “Improvements are expected in operational efficiencies and the ability to measure and manage the quality of care, which will allow us to reduce costs and participate in research opportunities.”
“THICC is bridging the information gap and taking a critical step in fulfilling the vision of a connected national healthcare system that enables physicians to improve the quality of patient care, reduce unnecessary procedures and therefore lower costs,” said Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman.
Montanaro said the coalition must work now on educating two key stakeholders: its physicians and the public. The latter group needs to be assured that their healthcare data will be protected, she said, while physicians need to be convinced that an HIE won’t interfere with their daily work. Sharing the Allscripts platform, she said, might make the physicians more receptive.
“They want data. They want information on their patients,” she said. “I think if you educate them in a way that they’re a voice for their patients, they’ll be receptive.”
