July 14, 2006
EHR: Two Approaches
Two interesting EHR related stories this week.
VA's EHR System Wins Harvard Award
The Veterans Affairs Department was honored for its extensive electronic medical record system, known as VistA. The system is credited with bringing veterans the highest quality, lowest cost medical care in the country.
Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government singled out an electronic health information system for praise this week. The VA was one of seven government initiatives chosen for the annual Innovations in American Government Award.
This is a decentralized, flexible approach which has consistently offered the highest quality and lowest cost medical care in the country. The software stores veteran's health care records electronically and makes them easier to share among clinics. It also uses a bar-code system to make sure medications are given to the right patient at the right time.
Remarkably, the VA is actually reducing costs and errors even though health care costs outside the system continue to soar. It is estimated that The cost of maintaining the system is $80 per patient per year.
New Pilot Program to Evaluate PHR with Senior Citizens
A new project for senior citizens through the combined efforts of Intel and Eskaton, an elder care non-profit based in California will evaluate the best way to bring Internet-based personal health records to the elderly residents of Eskaton facilities. In this program, residents will volunteer to use the system to help them manage their own health and medical information online.
Paper forms and documents can be faxed by the resident or healthcare provider to become part of the record. The residents will manage their own files and grant access to individuals of their choice and review historic documents.
The goals of the project are to use internet-based technology: to promote participation of the seniors in their healthcare, reduce costs, improve quality and evaluate the usefulness of such a system.
7/17/2006
Follow-up
A nicely done video on the Veterans Affairs hospital system VistA system can be found here.