Technology consortium promotes exchange of medical information

Cisco Systems , Intel and Oracle announced the formation of a consortium of leading technology companies, medical groups, and independent practice associations (IPAs) that will reward doctors who use technology to share information and improve patient care. The consortium is unique in that it is employer-led and bands together thousands of employees and healthcare providers working toward a goal of improving healthcare quality. Secure Access to Records The Silicon Valley Pay-for-Performance Consortium brings together Cisco, Intel and Oracle as well as some of the largest medical groups and IPAs in northern California, including Camino Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, San Jose Medical Group, Santa Clara County IPA, Santa Cruz Medical Foundation and Stanford Hospital and Clinics. Its purpose is to accelerate the adoption of health information technology for the safe and highly secure exchange of vital patient records. Access to accurate and up-to-date patient information is critical to the practice of medicine today. Misdiagnoses, contraindicated prescriptions, repeated tests and a host of other problems often result when physicians do not have access to current information. "Ultimately, it is about employers and physicians working together to improve the quality and safety of care," said Dr. Jeffrey Rideout, MD, Cisco's vice president of healthcare, Internet business solutions group and corporate medical director. "Creating a system that provides patient information and data as well as the results of medications and treatments will help physicians make the best medical decisions." Rewards Program A critical first initiative for the consortium is implementing a "Pay-for-Performance" program using the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Physician Practice Connections (PPC) program. Already in use in Bridges to Excellence programs in several states, the PPC national standards recognize physician practices that employ systematic processes and health information technology to improve quality. By establishing rewards for the use of processes and technology, the collaborative hopes to accelerate the transition to electronic health records and the use of automated decision support tools. Such tools can help doctors determine which course of therapy might be best for a particular patient given the latest science and medical and family histories. "A physician backed by a good electronic registry is much more effective and much less likely to make a mistake than one who isn't," said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "And there is a real efficiency issue too -- a doctor with good information support isn't going to be spending a lot of time tracking down medical histories to see if drug X or drug Y is right for Mr. Smith -- she'll know right from the start." Source:ECT.

 Printable version