DANVILLE, Pa., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move that could lay the foundation for one of the nation's first rural regional health information organizations (RHIO), Geisinger Health System has been awarded an estimated $1.5 million to launch a health records-sharing project with Shamokin Area Community Hospital and Sunbury Community Hospital & Outpatient Center.
The grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will enable the three healthcare organizations to electronically access records of patients they share while ensuring confidentiality. The total amount of the grant is $3 million; Geisinger, Shamokin, and Sunbury health organizations are contributing the $1.5 million in matching funds.
Nearly 25 additional hospitals and health systems have met to talk about creation of a RHIO that would build upon this project and ultimately share health records for patients across central and northeastern Pennsylvania.
"The success of this initiative ultimately will move our region toward a shared electronic health record that will substantially improve the quality and efficiency of patient care," said Geisinger President and CEO Glenn Steele Jr., MD.
Steele said this is particularly important because residents living in rural areas often have to leave their community to see specialists for sophisticated care.
"It is crucial that physicians have a way to communicate regarding each patient's care and needs," Steele said.
Geisinger is one of 16 grantees selected by AHRQ to complete projects considered key to the nation's 10-year strategy to bring healthcare into the 21st century by advancing the use of information technology.
"This project is part of a national movement to make our healthcare system better and safer through smart use of information technology," said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, MD. "It is very exciting to see this project move from concept and planning to implementation and real-world impact."
Geisinger Health System, Shamokin Area Community Hospital, Sunbury Community Hospital & Outpatient Center and numerous private physician practices are working together on the project because of the overlap in patient population and Geisinger's commitment to move its electronic health record out to non-Geisinger providers in central Pennsylvania.
"It just makes sense for us to share records because we share so many patients," said Scott Yucha, director of information technology at Sunbury Community Hospital. "From our perspective, the electronic health record benefits our patients by improving quality of care during the critical times of diagnosis and treatment. Our physicians will have all of the clinical information they need to make the right decision while the patient is being seen."
Geisinger has invested nearly $70 million into its electronic health record over the past 10 years. This record allows healthcare providers to access lab results, diagnostic information, radiology images, physician notes, allergies, family medical histories, alerts for drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions and notification of preventative testing (e.g., mammograms, colonoscopies). All of Geisinger's 650 physicians at its two hospitals and 41 community practice clinics have access to the record, as well as another 540 non-Geisinger physicians and their healthcare staff in practices that share patients with Geisinger.
Physicians can access information via a secure web-based system from any computer with appropriate Internet access.
Steele said that the information technology revolution has great potential to improve the safety, quality and efficiency of care while also reducing costs and duplication of medical tests, but it can actually exacerbate the existing urban-rural divide since most providers don't have the financial or staff resources to create their own infrastructure.
For the Sunbury and Shamokin hospitals, the AHRQ grant helps them to achieve their technology goals.
"For the past seven years, we have been working aggressively to implement our health information system throughout our facility," said Kimberly Chaundy, director of information technology at Shamokin Area Community Hospital. "Since 1998, we knew that electronic file sharing would one day be a reality. This is not a new concept for us, and because of our foresight, our 70-bed hospital has the means to collaborate in this technological advancement."
Geisinger Health System is an integrated, physician-led health services organization that serves more than 2.5 million residents throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania. It includes a 650-member multi-specialty physician practice, a tertiary/quaternary medical center, two acute care community hospitals, adult and pediatric trauma centers, a nationally acclaimed alcohol and chemical dependency treatment center, heart and cancer institutes, two research centers, 41 community practice clinics and Geisinger Health Plan - one of the largest not-for-profit rural HMOs in the country.
AHRQ launched its health IT initiative to advance the goals of President Bush for modernizing healthcare through the best and most effective use of information technology. With the 16 new grant awards announced today, AHRQ will have invested more than $166 million in grants and contracts in 41 states to support and stimulate investment in health IT, especially in rural and underserved areas. Together, these projects form a nationwide learning laboratory of healthcare systems, hospitals, physician practices, research institutes, nursing homes, and other organizations that are helping to transform everyday clinical practice through health IT. For more information on AHRQ's health IT initiative, visit http://healthit.ahrq.gov.
Geisinger Health SystemCONTACT: Alison Everett, Media Manager, Geisinger Health System,+1-570-490-3371
