Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt, Gibbons and Shields Focus on Improving Missourians' Health, Highlight Technology's Benefits
COLUMBIA–Gov. Matt Blunt, along with Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons and Sen. Charlie Shields, today embarked on a statewide tour to highlight the importance of technology in improving Missourians' health.
"We must harness technology's many advantages to deliver quality health care, lower prices and improved access for Missourians," Gov. Blunt said. "We use technology in countless ways every day to enhance convenience, efficiency and safety. Those same advancements have the potential to dramatically improve Missourians' health and can make health care information more accessible to providers, consumers and public health agencies to empower them to make the best health care decisions."
"It is unacceptable in the 21st century that Jiffy Lube is more technologically advanced than our health care system," Sen. Gibbons said. "Paper kills and we must move to a system where technology is used to save lives and save money."
"The Institute of Medicine says up to 98,000 people die each year because of errors in paper medical records, and that is an outrage," Sen. Shields said. "Going to electronic medical records and e-prescribing will save lives, improve health and save precious tax dollars by tracking those who steal from the people who really need help."
Blunt, Gibbons and Shields emphasized technology's role in reforming Missouri's health care delivery system and highlighted several successful programs already underway, as well as opportunities for improvement.
Jiffy Lube service facilities demonstrate how technology can effectively track and maintain records and the shortcomings of current medical record systems. The facilities' database recognizes each customer, vehicle, service history, preference and can be accessed by professionals at every location. Yet medical professionals and patients have no way to access even the smallest details about an individual's medical background. The new CyberAccess program coupled with the potential for electronic health records, part of Mo HealthNet, will provide a secure system for medical information and take steps toward offering the same advantages to medical professionals and their patients that vehicle owners and Jiffy Lube staff currently enjoy.
MU TeleHealth Network in Cape Girardeau models how teleconferencing technology can improve care. The network is designed to examine patients and provide treatment through teleconferencing technology to every county in the state.
Oxford Healthcare in Springfield provides tele-monitoring to patients with chronic illness such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, pulmonary, asthma and diabetes. The program uses telephone technology to monitor vital signs and allows clients to reduce emergency room visits by 40 to 50 times a month.
At Heartland Health in St. Joseph, radiology scans are e-mailed to the center so patients do not have to travel from Maryville to have their x-rays read by a physician.
As governor, Blunt has worked to utilize technology to improve health care. Last year he called for and secured $25 million for the Healthcare Technology Fund to build a foundation for the state to enhance technology in its health care programs. He also recommended an additional $5 million in next year's budget to implement the Health Care Information Technology Initiative to close the digital divide between safety net and other health care providers.
Mo HealthNet will replace the state's old paper-based Medicaid program and apply available technology to improve care and efficiency. Mo HealthNet participants will have access to a health care home to allow them to have one central point of contact with a health care provider who understands their individual health care needs. The new program will focus on wellness and prevention in order to treat medical conditions before they require more expensive medical procedures and eliminate unnecessary emergency room visits.
The tour included stops at a Jiffy Lube in Columbia, at MU TeleHealth Network in Cape Girardeau, Oxford Healthcare in Springfield and Heartland Health in St. Joseph.