Five innovative and leading health systems, each of whom are pioneers in the use of electronic medical records for their patients, will join together today to announce a new initiative to securely exchange electronic health data, with the first data exchange planned in the next year.
Collectively bringing together both the latest technology and a shared mission to deliver patient-centered high-value health care to the citizens of this nation, Geisinger Health System (PA), Kaiser Permanente (CA), Mayo Clinic (MN), Intermountain Healthcare (UT), and Group Health Cooperative (WA) today announced the creation of an interoperability consortium. The consortium will utilize standards-based health information technology to share data about patients electronically.
“Each of our organizations can point to concrete examples in which information technology allowed us to develop new knowledge, facilitate decisions, improve safety, efficiency and coordination of care, and offer the best treatment for the patient,” said John Noseworthy, MD, president and chief executive officer at Mayo Clinic. “This collaboration will demonstrate what is possible when a unique union of forces is brought to bear on this multi-faceted challenge: realizing the promise of health information technology for patients across the nation.”
Dr. Dawn Milliner, Mayo Clinic’s Chief Medical Information Officer, offers her thoughts on how the new care connectiviity consortium will benefit patient care.
The goal of the consortium is to demonstrate better and safer care with better data availability. If a patient from one system gets sick far from home and must receive health care in another system — or if any system sends patients to another — doctors and nurses at each of the consortium systems will be able to easily and quickly access invaluable information about the patient’s medications, allergies, and health conditions, allowing them to provide the right kind of treatment at the right time and avoid unintended consequences like adverse medication interactions.
Below Lee Howard recounts her experience of having to bring all her medical records in a binder to her Mayo Clinic appointment. She expresses the benefits of electronic records on a patient’s health care experience.
The five health systems believe that achieving electronic health information interoperability and connectivity will be a critical next step in the United States becoming a 21st century, information-enabled health care system. With patient privacy and security as overarching priorities, the Care Connectivity Consortium’s goal is to demonstrate that effective and timely health information exchange using the latest national IT standards is possible in a secure environment and among geographically disparate health care providers.
To view the live press briefing today at 9 a.m. EST, please visit: http://www.visualwebcaster.com/CareConnectivityConsortium
