Florida Health Information Network

Dear Friends and Colleagues:
Just returned from Israel where I gave a presentation at an international conference in Jerusalem (Israel Medicine Association-World Fellowship Conference) about the implementation of electronic health records in medical practice. The paper was well received and doctors present were especially interested in the SFHII (South Florida health Information Initiative) project. As a result I was invited to give the same presentation in Germany in November.
Reviewing the stack of Miami Herald editions I found an interesting article (April 13, 2007) highlighting the issue of a statewide health information network.
Of course, financing and privacy issues remain major obstacles that need to be addressed
Organized medicine should head the struggle for the widespread adoption of electronic health records and the connectivity of such systems for the benefit of our patients, to improve the efficacy and safety of medical care.
Yours
Bernd
;-)


Posted on Fri, Apr. 13, 2007
Lawmakers consider statewide medical database
BY MONICA HATCHER
The healthcare industry is usually among the first to adopt cutting-edge technology to improve the practice of medicine. But when it comes to keeping and sharing patient information, it's often accused of being stuck in the age when leeches were considered state of the art.

More than 80 percent of doctors still rely on handwritten records and manila folders to organize and track patient histories, according to National Center for Health Statistics.

Florida lawmakers are now considering several bills that would create a healthcare information network, where physicians could access a statewide Internet database of medical records. Despite concerns over expense and privacy, advocates -- including the Florida Medical Association -- say electronic records promise greater patient safety, more efficiency and reduced healthcare costs for consumers.

''Banking is moving forward, business is moving forward, government is moving into the information age, but the medical care is staying stagnant,'' said Rep. Denise Grimsley, R Lake Placid, who is co-sponsoring HB 1121, which will likely come up for a final vote in the full house next week.

Similar Senate measures are pending scheduling. Grimsley's bill builds on a two-year initiative to create regional online medical record databases around the state, including one in Miami-Dade County.

PILOT PROGRAM

The South Florida Health Information Initiative launched a pilot system in October linking Mercy Hospital with nine clinics affiliated with the Health Choice Network. Through a Web-based portal, physicians can access and update an individual's health information at ''the point of care,'' or when they are face to face with a patient.

Several hospitals in South Florida already use electronic record systems internally, but other doctors and hospitals can't get to them.

Carladenise Edwards, executive director for SFHII, said her program is designed to eventually become the main regional gateway that allows local systems to talk to each other.

''Our ultimate goal is to improve the quality of healthcare by maximizing the use of technology,'' Edwards said.

COST THEORIES

Advocates believe the lack of access to information is one reason for duplicate and unnecessary treatments that drive up costs. Mailing or faxing paper records wastes time and opens the door to errors because of illegible handwriting.

In addition, an electronic system would take the guesswork out of treating patients who end up incoherent in an emergency room.

The Helen Bentley Health Center in Coconut Grove is one participant in the pilot program. Medical director Anthony Stanley said he's glad he no longer needs to call nurses and technicians in his office for help deciphering patient records penned by other doctors.

''This is going to expedite better patient care, minimize patient care,'' Stanley said.

Not all in the medical field are on board, however.

Edwards said recruiting participants to the pilot program is an ongoing struggle. Many are reluctant to adopt the technology largely because of the cost of buying software and hardware, she said. Others have cited concerns for patient privacy.

``It's a very political process. Some of them are anxious to be involved. Others are sitting back and waiting for it to be mandated.''

In the last two years, the Agency for Health Care Administration has given $3.5 million in grants to regional health organizations for network development and training. Grimsley's bill would provide for about $25 million to build the state network over the next three years.

PAST LEGISLATION

Financial restraints led to the rejection of similar measures last year. Debate over whether it was the government's role and not the private sector's to build the statewide system also stymied legislation.

The bills have moved farther and swifter this session, but in a tight economic environment, getting funding could again prove a significant hurdle.

''Electronic records -- electronic anything, is very expensive,'' said Linda Renn, a lobbyist with the Florida Health Information Management Association. ``I wouldn't say it's pie in the sky, but [bill supporters] are going to have to explain why this is important.''