Governor Schweitzer Encourages Montana EHR Collaborative Dialogue on Rural/Urban Health Information Connectivity

(PRWEB) July 8, 2005 -- Healthcare decision-makers in the Pacific Northwest are prioritizing Electronic Health Records (EHRs) as critical to Montanas healthcare infrastructure. The Montana EHR Collaborative (MEHRC), a group of cross-industry leaders, will converge with key healthcare stakeholders in an August 12-13 meeting to assess the potential for joining rural and urban care communities via a consolidated, statewide e-health initiative. The goal of MEHRC is to move healthcare stakeholders from contemplation to vigorous action in the electronic healthcare arena.

"Providing quality, affordable healthcare is a top priority. This conference is an excellent first step in looking at ways technology can help us deliver better healthcare services to the people of Montana, said Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. Improving state healthcare has been high on the governors agenda since his inauguration early this year.

Our gorgeous state has a distinguished history of providing quality health care to our citizens, but Montanas geography challenges our providers who serve more than a million residents across 145,500 square miles, says Raymond F. Rogers, Chief Development Officer, National Center for Health Care Informatics, one of three organizations sponsoring the MEHRC Conference. Montanas scale approximately 58 times the size of the similarly populated Delaware, for example creates unique logistic demands on sharing patient information among regions.

Our quality of healthcare can no longer be compromised because our citizens choose to live in the intermountain states, says Dwight Hiesterman, MD, clinical consultant with the Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation, a MEHRC partnering organization. Paper records are an anathema, given that many of our citizens travel 50 miles to see their primary care physician or up to 300 miles to see a specialist, he says. Its incumbent upon healthcare leaders to become more efficient and improve communication, which will in turn improve patient outcomes.

The Montana EHR Collaborative Conference is open to all providers in Montana considering a transition to EHR. The event features a full-spectrum of healthcare stakeholders in dialogue throughout two days of educational forums and sessions. Topics will range from analyzing frameworks for achieving statewide goals to assessing EHR best-practices for individual provider initiatives.

This commitment to connect the states providers with patients is inspiring, says Carolyn Hartley, President and CEO of Physicians EHR, and also an event sponsor. You cant get from paper to electronic transaction by flipping a switch. The healthcare industry is incredibly complex and Montanas healthcare leaders are doing the right thing by inviting fellow stakeholders into a productive discussion at this August meeting. With a 50/50 ratio of rural/urban residents, Montana is in a position to become a significant leader in rural connectivity, says Hartley who is also lead author of EHR Implementation, A Step by Step Guide for the Medical Practice (AMA Press, Feb. 2005), and will guide much of the conferences practical discussion. MEHRC has established a website (www.mtech.edu/nchci/ehrconference.htm) for ongoing conference information.

About the National Center for Health Care Informatics:
NCHCI is a non-profit corporation in the state of Montana dedicated to improving data and information management in health care. NCHCI acts under a federal grant to build a national reference and research centerand has assisted in creating the first undergraduate degree in Health Care Informatics in the nation at Montana Tech in Butte. Graduates of the Health Care Informatics program will interface between clinicians and IT professionals to help design, implement and monitor systems for hospitals and other health care facilities.

About the Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation (MPQHF):
MPQHF is a physician-sponsored quality improvement organization under contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to oversee healthcare quality issues for Medicare beneficiaries. MPQHF is poised to assist hospitals and physician offices in the adoption and implementation of Health Information Technology to improve healthcare for Montanans. www.mpqhf.org

About Physicians EHR, LLC:
Physicians EHR advises physicians on planning for consumer driven health care, patient communication strategies, electronic medical records, electronic health records and personal health records, along with Privacy and Security implementation tactics. Physicians EHR is a leader in physician education, with significant contributions to dozens of healthcare information technology books and video courses for the American Medical Association. Physicians EHR opinions and surveys are sought by national HIT and compliance organizations as well as numerous medical societies. The company serves family practitioners, specialists, nurse practitioners, public health clinics, hospice and home health care providers seeking to move affordably and efficiently into HIT use. www.physiciansehr.com

Contact:
Raymond F. Rogers
Chief Development Officer
National Center for Health Care Informatics
406.496.4821
rrogers@mtech.edu

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