Photo: David J. Brailer, M.D., Ph.D., (right)
converses with OU-COM Dean Jack Brose, D.O., during a break at the
“RHIOhio: Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural Ohio” conference
at Baker University Center, Sept. 17 and 18.
by Kevin M. Sanders
Sept. 26, 2007
The future of Ohio’s health
information digital highway received a big boost Monday when
Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order forming the Ohio
Health Information Partnership Advisory Board. The board is
charged with creating an operational plan and a business
proposal to create a public/private organization to coordinate a
strategy for using electronic health records and health
information exchange.
Janetta King, policy director
for Governor Strickland, announced the establishment of the
board before a group of more than 150 leaders in health care,
policy and technology attending the “RHIOhio: Bridging the
Digital Divide in Rural Ohio” conference. The conference, which
took place Sept. 17 and 18 in Athens at Ohio University, brought
together conference participants to examine the opportunities
and challenges of deploying electronic medical information
systems and forming regional health information organizations (RHIOs)
in rural areas of Ohio. The conference was organized by Ohio
University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM) and the Ohio
Department of Health (ODH).
RHIOs are seen as the likely
building blocks that will allow for
the secure digital exchange of electronic medical records across
the state.
Part of the governor’s
Turnaround Ohio plan, King explained that utilizing information
technologies in health care, including electronic medical
records, is an important goal of the Strickland administration.
They envision all types of providers — hospitals as well
physicians in private practice, practitioners treating
behavioral as well as physical conditions and those being paid
by Medicaid as well as private insurance — using information
technologies to provide better, more accessible and less
expensive health care.
“I think we are all here today
because we understand the many, many benefits of establishing a
health IT infrastructure and sharing health information,
including efficiency, quality, cost savings, and — important for
rural areas — increasing access and making it easier to navigate
the system as patients travel to and from different providers
and health systems,” King said.
“The board is important because
it is a public/private partnership that begins to centralize all
the disparate projects and discussions involving the development
of health information exchange in Ohio,” said Brian Phillips,
chief information officer at OU-COM and conference chairman. “It
involves the Strickland administration in the wide range of
efforts that are occurring at local and regional levels and
provides the basis for effective statewide coordination.”
David J. Brailer, M.D., Ph.D.,
the former National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology under the Bush administration, highlighted the
opportunities and challenges inherent in bridging the digital
divide in rural communities in his keynote address at the
conference.
Health information technology
(HIT), he said, can increase the capacity of physicians to see
more patients, break down geographical barriers to health care
access, improve the quality of health care and reduce the cost
of health care, all of which are important to rural providers
and consumers.
Although government can be a key
player in the advance of health information exchange, he said,
“Don’t wait on the government to do this for you. No one can do
this better than you in your own state and community. You may
not feel this way, but you are all pioneers.”
Brailer sees state leaders such
as governors and legislators helping to support those in the
forefront of implementing HIT.
“The ability and willingness of
providers to adopt health information technology are affected by
several factors, one of which is cost,” said William Hayes,
Ph.D., president of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. Hayes
had worked with the governor’s office to develop the executive
order which established the board.
“I hope (the board) will bring
added attention from leaders across the spectrum, and
potentially, it makes it easier to get the financial commitment
needed to launch and sustain the effort to fully implement
health information exchange,” said
Hayes.
The conference, he
said, should spur more of the necessary collaboration and
networking to take place across the state.
“RHIOhio will build
momentum (for health information exchange) in other parts of
Ohio as well as Southeastern Ohio.”
“HIT holds much promise,” said
Alvin Jackson, M.D., ODH director, “as an important tool for
making significant improvements to our health care system and,
ultimately, to improving health status and reducing disparities
for citizens of the state of Ohio.”
Two of the many benefits HIT
offers, said Jackson, were improved access to health information
for both patients and providers, including the ability for
multiple providers treating the same patient to gain quick
access to relevant histories, lab results and other information,
and automated clinical decision support that is evidence-based
and incorporates the latest in medical research.
ODH, he said, is committed to
assisting rural HIT implementation efforts by helping to assess
needs, build coalitions, coordinate efforts and identify
resources throughout Ohio.
“The fact is that people in
rural areas of Ohio face significant access barriers to care,”
said U.S. Representative Zack Space from Ohio’s 18th
Congressional District. “Using telemedicine technology, we can
give people access to medical treatment they would not otherwise
have.
“I have been working very hard
in Congress to provide incentives and free up resources to help
bridge the digital divide disproportionately affecting rural
Ohio.
“Failure is simply not an
option.”
Conference sponsors included The
Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, Horizon Telecom, Gateway,
OhiONE, OhioHealth, Ohio Hospital Association and the Governor’s
Office of Appalachia.
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