SAN FRANCISCO, May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- CalRHIO announced today that HP has agreed in principle to join Medicity, Inc., and Perot Systems Corporation in creating the country's largest statewide health information exchange (HIE) utility service. The goal is to offer California health care providers and patients secure electronic access to medical records, where and when the information is needed.
"HP's participation underscores the importance of this effort," said Don Holmquest, MD, JD, CalRHIO President and CEO. "Its commitment demonstrates that leading technology firms are willing to work together on behalf of their employees and customers to ensure that vital medical information is available at the point of care."
CalRHIO estimates that every day in California, 50,000 or more patients are experiencing suboptimal care solely because important medical information is missing from their records. CalRHIO's HIE Utility Service will offer communities that want to enable all their health care providers to exchange information an optional alternative to building and financing their own infrastructure. For communities that have already initiated local health information exchange efforts, the services offered will be compatible and complementary.
Following a rigorous competitive bidding process, CalRHIO announced March 13 that it had selected, subject to final negotiations and agreements, Medicity and Perot Systems, as its partners to build a statewide HIE system that will offer a suite of secure, privacy-protected services. HP will participate in strategy development, infrastructure design and deployment, and implementation services for the CalRHIO HIE Utility Service, leveraging its industry relationships and global experience in health information systems.
"HP embraces this collaboration between the private and public sector on the development of a California-wide health information exchange utility service," said Jeffrey Miller, vice president of Health and Life Sciences, HP. "This effort has the potential to increase the quality of medical care for Californians by enabling physicians and other medical professionals to quickly access more complete electronic medical records."
"HP brings a wealth of experience and credibility to the project," said Kipp Lassetter, Medicity Chairman and CEO. "This relationship will further enhance our ability to move rapidly from planning to implementation. With the addition of HP, we benefit from the support of a collaborative IT industry partner and one of the leading California employers supporting the US health IT initiative."
Both U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger have called for adoption of electronic medical records over the next several years to improve the quality and safety of health care, as well as decrease costs. The CalRHIO HIE Utility Service supports the Governor's Executive Order and will enable electronic medical records to be shared confidentially among providers across California and through the National Health Information Network, currently under development by HHS. The effort supports Secretary Leavitt's value-driven health care initiative by promoting the adoption of electronic health records and potentially enabling health care organizations to track and document the efficiency and appropriateness of care patients receive.
CalRHIO
