Monday, July 31, 2006
Contact: Spence Jackson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Announces Innovative Electronic Health Record Program
JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt announced today that the new $25 million Healthcare Technology Fund in the fiscal year 2007 budget will provide funding for a new, innovative electronic health record program in addition to other projects that it will fund through the course of the year. Over 700 Missouri physicians have enrolled in the program featuring cutting edge technology that will allow the Medicaid program and private providers to communicate critical information that will improve and expedite service to at-risk patient populations.
“This important initiative is made possible by the new Healthcare Technology Fund and will help Missouri physicians better serve Missouri families. It will also decrease administrative costs and streamline procedures for physicians caring for Missouri Medicaid clients,” Blunt said. “The fact that 700 physicians have already enrolled in the program speaks to its value to Missouri's provider community and the patients they serve.”
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, 31 cents of every healthcare dollar spent in the United States goes toward administrative costs and similar expenses. A 2005 study by the RAND Corporation estimates that the U.S. healthcare system could save $162 billion annually through the widespread use of healthcare technology.
Most patient data is currently stored primarily in paper form and housed with individual providers, resulting in fragmentation in the healthcare industry. Individual providers have difficulty obtaining complete healthcare information to provide effective and beneficial treatment to their patients, and public health agencies find the current paper-based systems limits disease surveillance management and response capabilities.
The electronic health record program allows Missouri physicians to execute important “e-health” transactions. Improved clinical functions include the ability to view important clinical alerts based upon the patient's history and selection of the appropriate preferred medications.
Advanced “e-health” functions include the ability to electronically prescribe and obtain a real time response for pharmacy and medical service requests. The program aims to increase the volume of “e-prescribing” in Missouri and will enable physicians to transmit new prescription and refill requests electronically to a Medicaid patient's choice of pharmacy. The physician will be able to electronically transmit patient instructions, access drug product information, view diagnosis data and receive alerts.
Based upon provider interest, the Missouri Division of Medical Services plans to enroll as many as 3,000 physicians in the program.
The electronic health record program is intended to improve health outcomes, facilitate coordination of care between providers, reduce dangerous drug interactions, minimize duplicate therapies and reduce unnecessary Medicaid spending.
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