Electronic Health Records

Hospitals and other health care providers in Maryland are receiving a total of $2 million in federal money to reimburse them for investments they made in new electronic record systems, state officials said Thursday. The grants were the first in a series being offered in coming years. They were only available to providers who have a certain number of Medicaid patients and already switched to the new system, said Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown. Brown said the technology will ensure providers have the right information about patients and that will improve care, in addition to save money.

Harford Community College has received a $25,000 grant from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to support development of an electronic health records system that will bolster training of the institution's nearly 2,200 Nursing and Allied Health students. The grant for Harford's Emerging Technologies Project -- Electronic Health Records will enable HCC to acquire the high-tech equipment necessary to launch the project across the Allied Health and Nursing curricula and provide state-of-the-art education in a crucial workforce skill for the health care industry.

WASHINGTON -- After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and Mississippi, thousands of evacuees with health problems faced double jeopardy because their medical records had been lost - forcing doctors in evacuation centers to rely on educated guesswork in treating patients they'd never seen before. One group was spared that risk: former members of the military whose records were available electronically from the Department of Veterans Affairs. For these patients, doctors in Texas, Arkansas and other states that took in Katrina evacuees could call up medical charts, prescriptions, lab results - even videos of medical imaging tests.

Over 140,000 adults and children with mental illness are served by community-based mental health care providers in Maryland. With the right mix and amount of services and supports, the great majority of these individuals recover from their illness and go on to live quiet, successful lives in the community. As providers we are proud of the critical role we play in helping those who are struggling not only with a devastating illness, but too often with poverty, homelessness and social isolation.

Nearly everyone agrees that America's health care system is badly broken. Most people focus on out-of-control costs and lack of coverage: Every year, we spend almost $2 trillion on health care, 16 percent of our gross domestic product. One in six Americans has no health insurance. These are major problems. But another urgent issue gets far less attention. Despite the astronomical costs, our system doesn't provide the right kind of care - even to people lucky enough to have insurance. In short, we're not getting enough for our trillions.

Harford Community College has received a $25,000 grant from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to support development of an electronic health records system that will bolster training of the institution's nearly 2,200 Nursing and Allied Health students. The grant for Harford's Emerging Technologies Project -- Electronic Health Records will enable HCC to acquire the high-tech equipment necessary to launch the project across the Allied Health and Nursing curricula and provide state-of-the-art education in a crucial workforce skill for the health care industry.

As he looks for ways to pay for universal health coverage, President Barack Obama is placing a multibillion-dollar bet on electronic health records. The goal is to get all of the nation's doctors to make the move from clipboard to computer by 2014, thus creating a national health information network that proponents from across the political spectrum say will improve care, advance medical knowledge and save the country tens of billions of dollars annually. That future can be glimpsed in Dundalk, where H. Edward Parker has been a patient at Johns Hopkins Community Physicians for decades.

Over 140,000 adults and children with mental illness are served by community-based mental health care providers in Maryland. With the right mix and amount of services and supports, the great majority of these individuals recover from their illness and go on to live quiet, successful lives in the community. As providers we are proud of the critical role we play in helping those who are struggling not only with a devastating illness, but too often with poverty, homelessness and social isolation.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stressed the merits of switching to electronic medical records in an appearance in Baltimore yesterday. "It's been a very great disappointment that the administration has not proposed to go to 100 percent electronic health records," Gingrich said yesterday. He was in Baltimore to speak at a health care symposium sponsored by Siemens, which ends today. He said Congress could have paid for such a changeover with the money now being directed to the subprime mortgage loan bailout.

President Bush traveled to Baltimore's veterans hospital yesterday to promote his plan to computerize Americans' health records, seizing a chance to promote a popular idea at a time when the presidential race is entering a particularly nasty phase. In his fourth visit to the Baltimore area as president, Bush met with about 140 physicians and veterans to advance his proposal to use information technology to cut costs, reduce medical errors and improve care. "Health care will be better, the costs will go down, the quality will go up, and there's no telling what other benefits will inure to our society" once most Americans have electronically accessible medical records, he said of his plan, which he envisions taking effect over the next decade.

Hospitals and other health care providers in Maryland are receiving a total of $2 million in federal money to reimburse them for investments they made in new electronic record systems, state officials said Thursday. The grants were the first in a series being offered in coming years. They were only available to providers who have a certain number of Medicaid patients and already switched to the new system, said Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown. Brown said the technology will ensure providers have the right information about patients and that will improve care, in addition to save money.

As he looks for ways to pay for universal health coverage, President Barack Obama is placing a multibillion-dollar bet on electronic health records. The goal is to get all of the nation's doctors to make the move from clipboard to computer by 2014, thus creating a national health information network that proponents from across the political spectrum say will improve care, advance medical knowledge and save the country tens of billions of dollars annually. That future can be glimpsed in Dundalk, where H. Edward Parker has been a patient at Johns Hopkins Community Physicians for decades.

Nearly everyone agrees that America's health care system is badly broken. Most people focus on out-of-control costs and lack of coverage: Every year, we spend almost $2 trillion on health care, 16 percent of our gross domestic product. One in six Americans has no health insurance. These are major problems. But another urgent issue gets far less attention. Despite the astronomical costs, our system doesn't provide the right kind of care - even to people lucky enough to have insurance. In short, we're not getting enough for our trillions.

Maryland and Washington, D.C., are among 12 cities and states whose doctors will participate in a $150 million Medicare pilot project offering physicians incentives to adopt electronic health records. The five-year effort will help as many as 1,200 small practices around the country switch from paper to digital recordkeeping. Michael O. Leavitt, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, announced the federal initiative yesterday at a news conference at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stressed the merits of switching to electronic medical records in an appearance in Baltimore yesterday. "It's been a very great disappointment that the administration has not proposed to go to 100 percent electronic health records," Gingrich said yesterday. He was in Baltimore to speak at a health care symposium sponsored by Siemens, which ends today. He said Congress could have paid for such a changeover with the money now being directed to the subprime mortgage loan bailout.

For two decades, electronic health records have been the Next Big Thing in health care: a way to simultaneously improve care and reduce waste in a system clogged with paper and manila folders. In 1994, President Bill Clinton announced that all doctors would use computerized records within 10 years. In his 2004 State of the Union, President Bush called for universal use of digital health records. The result of all these grand declarations: 90 percent of U.S. doctors and more than two-thirds of U.S. hospitals still use paper for patient records.

Maryland and Washington, D.C., are among 12 cities and states whose doctors will participate in a $150 million Medicare pilot project offering physicians incentives to adopt electronic health records. The five-year effort will help as many as 1,200 small practices around the country switch from paper to digital recordkeeping. Michael O. Leavitt, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, announced the federal initiative yesterday at a news conference at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis.

For two decades, electronic health records have been the Next Big Thing in health care: a way to simultaneously improve care and reduce waste in a system clogged with paper and manila folders. In 1994, President Bill Clinton announced that all doctors would use computerized records within 10 years. In his 2004 State of the Union, President Bush called for universal use of digital health records. The result of all these grand declarations: 90 percent of U.S. doctors and more than two-thirds of U.S. hospitals still use paper for patient records.

WASHINGTON -- After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and Mississippi, thousands of evacuees with health problems faced double jeopardy because their medical records had been lost - forcing doctors in evacuation centers to rely on educated guesswork in treating patients they'd never seen before. One group was spared that risk: former members of the military whose records were available electronically from the Department of Veterans Affairs. For these patients, doctors in Texas, Arkansas and other states that took in Katrina evacuees could call up medical charts, prescriptions, lab results - even videos of medical imaging tests.

As the Department of Veterans Affairs evacuated hundreds of patients from its New Orleans hospital three days before the levees failed, another crucial part of the federal government's relief effort was air-lifted to Houston: two backup computer tapes holding more than 180,000 electronic health records. The tapes included veterans' allergies, medicines and basic information -- enough data that any evacuated veteran could be treated at any veterans hospital. Without electronic records, hospital staff would have spent critical minutes, even hours, lugging thousands of paper files to higher ground.