 Electronic Health Records Emerge in Alaska
By Jerome O. List, M.D.
Statistics in the United States show that seven to ten percent of physicians use Electronic Health Records or EHR technology in their private practice. Although one would imagine in the "information age" and time management challenges that make up the physician's practice, this statistic would be on the rise. But over the past seven to eight years it has stayed the same.
It seems ominous that the usage of EHR technology is about surge in the United States as well as in Alaska. Perhaps the surge in interest stems from the President himself, who has been eluding to the importance of bringing the medical field up to par with standards that have been set in other industries, such as banking. As a result of his initiatives the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology was created. The President continues to support a Health Information Technology Plan as part of his overall health care agenda to make America's first-rate health care safer, more accessible and more affordable.
On a State level, Commissioner Gilbertson appointed a dedicated staff person, Stephanie Zidec, to promote Health Information Technology for the practitioners of Alaska. Physicians have seen the imposition of regulations by government agencies, such as in the case of HIPAA but physician led initiatives are taking the lead in issues that directly affect the way physicians practice medicine.
To that end we have created the Alaska Electronic Health Record Alliance. The organization was created as a non-profit which will allow us to apply for various sources for funding. Our mission statement is to investigate, implement, and maintain an affordable interoperable electronic health record available to all licensed healthcare practitioners in Alaska.
We have currently proposed a project to the Alaska Telehealth Advisory Council. A second project is being proposed to the Rasmuson Foundation. We are planning to meet with other agencies to seek funding for our projects.
With the push we are seeing nationally, interoperability will be a key issue. We think it would be of great benefit to the medical community in Alaska, to have three or four major EHR systems throughout. That would allow us to build bridges and make these systems interoperable. Building bridges between systems is very expensive and bridges need to be updated every time a system is updated. The fewer systems in the State, the easier it will be to keep them interoperable.
Bringing all the major players together and working on the issues of interoperability will be crucial. I think we have a unique opportunity to achieve interoperability in Alaska. I will continue to work in this direction and will be glad to provide information on our progress as it becomes available.
For more information on Electronic Medical Records, call the Providence's Physicians Practice line at (907) 743-2348.
Published May 2005, Physicians Practice.
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