Electronic health records can provide a patient’s entire medical history and a wealth of other information at the click of a button. They also have the potential to save countless lives and billions of dollars. Now, the University of Missouri has a two-year, $6.8 million cooperative agreement to help patients throughout the state benefit from increased use of this health information technology.
The Missouri Health Information Technology (HIT) Assistance Center was created by MU with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The assistance center will help thousands of primary care providers throughout Missouri select electronic health records best suited to their practices. The center will then help the providers use the technology to improve quality, safety and efficiency in patient care.
The center will assist 3,200 primary care providers in better understanding electronic health records through a variety of outreach and education programs. Providers will learn how the technology can help improve the quality of care, as well as the federal incentives for using electronic health records. Of the 3,200 care providers, 1,200 will be selected to receive services that will help them achieve meaningful use of electronic health records. The HIT Assistance Center will especially target primary care providers who serve uninsured, underinsured and medically underserved populations, especially those in rural areas.
“Our focus is helping primary care providers select, adopt and begin meaningful use of electronic health records,” says Grant Savage, the project’s principal investigator and chair of health management and informatics. “We see this as a way to dramatically improve the quality of care for the neediest people in Missouri.”
Missouri patients could particularly benefit from the electronically enhanced tracking and sharing of information about health risks and diseases. “Missouri rates for cardiovascular disease, cancer, kidney disease, infant mortality, obesity and smoking are among the worst in the nation,” says Karen Edison, the project’s co-principal investigator and director of MU’s Center for Health Policy.
“Electronic health records are another important tool that can empower patients and physicians in their efforts to improve health,” she says. “Studies have also found that primary care providers are at the forefront of practicing preventive medicine, which is essential for improving population health and reducing overall health costs.”
Missouri’s rankings among all 50 states and the District of Columbia are 40th for cardiovascular disease, 40th for cancer, 36th for kidney disease, 35th for infant mortality and 34th for obesity. Missouri also ranks 48th among states for rates of adult smoking.