New eHI Group Brings Small Medical Practices Closer to Using Information

Subject: New eHI Group Brings Small Medical Practices Closer to Using Information Technology

WASHINGTON, DC -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 11/16/2004 -- Small medical practices ready to use electronic health records are that much closer to implementation because of a new eHealth Initiative (eHI) working group. Launched today, the Working Group for Health Information Technology (HIT) in Small Medical Practices will put practical, easy-to-use resources into the hands of those who deliver the majority of U.S. health care -- clinicians practicing in groups of 10 or less -- thereby improving the quality of care delivered to a majority of America's patients.

Currently, use of electronic health records by small practices is estimated at 5 to 15 percent. For many of these groups, implementation means getting the answers to basic questions such as how to choose a vendor, draw up a business contract, or interconnect with another clinician's office, a laboratory or a pharmacy. By bringing together all the needed parties -- other clinicians, hospitals, laboratories, health care IT suppliers, standards organizations -- in a working group, eHI is asking the questions clinicians themselves would ask, and getting them the answers more quickly.

Working with leaders from two key national organizations representing small practices -- Peter Basch, MD, of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and David C. Kibbe, MD, of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) -- the Working Group for HIT in Small Medical Practices will release a number of products early next year: (1) a "how-to" for small practices that are soliciting quotations and negotiating contracts with EHR vendors; and (2) a set of resources that will make it easier for small practices to send and receive data from a range of health care settings: office-to-office, office-to-laboratory, office-to-pharmacy.

"The type of support we're providing small practices as they transition from paper-based to electronic patient record-keeping is extraordinary," said Janet Marchibroda, Chief Executive Officer, eHealth Initiative. "Physicians in small practices are eager to use IT, and eHI is ready to help them make that leap."

For information on how to join the Working Group, please contact Director of Programs Jennifer Covich Bordenick at jennifer.covich@ehealthinitiative.org

The Working Group for HIT in Small Medical Practices is one of several eHI working groups now being launched. The Working Group for Connecting Communities, which held its kick-off meeting November 8th, will convene again December 6th and 7th in Washington, DC, to vet a range of financial, organizational, and technical alternatives for health information exchange. Such issues are becoming increasingly relevant, given emerging policies from the Department of Health and Human Services related to regional health information organizations, or RHIOs. The Working Group on Financing and Sustainability gets underway on December 1st to begin gaining multi-stakeholder input into a set of alternatives for financing and incentives that will help spur the adoption of HIT. The Working Group on Global HIT, conducted through the Leadership in Global Health Technology (LIGHT) initiative, launches on December 13th to promote the usage of HIT in addressing global health care challenges. To learn more about these and other eHI working groups, go to www.ehealthinitiative.org/initiatives/programs/WorkingGroup.mspx.

The eHealth Initiative and the Foundation for eHealth Initiative are independent, non-profit affiliated organizations whose missions are the same: to drive improvement in the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology. For more information on the eHealth Initiative and the Foundation for eHealth Initiative, go to www.ehealthinitiative.org.

Contact:
Louise Arnheim
Director of Communications
eHealth Initiative
202.624.3274
Louise.Arnheim@ehealthinitiative.org

ihc message