I recently received a form letter from Dr. Andrew Doniger, Director of the Monroe County Health Department. The purpose of the letter was to introduce the Greater Rochester Regional Health Information Organization, also known as RHIO.
If you’re not familiar with health information exchanges, they are basically a clearinghouse for electronic medical records that allow health care providers, facilities and organizations to share relevant patient information. Things like x-rays, lab results and medication history are included in this exchange. In the past, information like this may have been shared by fax, snail mail or phone calls between providers. It’s easy to see how centralizing and making this information available across providers and institutions holds the potential for increased efficiency as well as improvements to patient outcomes and overall quality in our health delivery system.
Right now there are about 300 in development across the United States and 19 in New York State across six regions. The Rochester RHIO was created in 2006 with a $4.4 million state grant and $1.9 million in funds from local businesses, hospitals and health insurers. About 20 institutions are currently participating by providing data to the RHIO, including the major insurers, hospital systems and lab providers. Ongoing operations of the RHIO are expected to be funded from lower health care expenses over time. According to representatives at Rochester’s RHIO, there is not currently a mechanism to share information between organizations in different geographic areas, so if a participating member fell ill while traveling, it wouldn’t necessarily help outside their home area. However, especially with the spotlight on healthcare IT as part of the health reform initiatives underway in Washington, this will clearly be an area targeted for future expansion.
Despite the benefits, participation is not mandatory. In fact, if you wish to participate as a patient, you’ll need to sign a release form at your provider’s office, authorizing them to share records using the exchange. You can also sign up on their website, although it’s slightly more cumbersome since it requires that the form be notarized. If you just go to the doctors office, you can sign in front of the provider without the additional notarization required.
According to the RHIO, here’s a quick run-down of the benefits:
- Fewer repeated tests
- Easier second opinons
- Reduced risk of medical mistakes
- Faster treatment in an emergency
- Less chance of adverse drug reactions through electronic prescribing
- Greater convenience for patients who won’t have to carry cards
It seems appropriate to end this post with a quick quote from Tommy Thompson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services. He says, “The most remarkable feature of this 21st century medicine is that we hold it together with 19th century paperwork.”
I couldn’t agree more.
About the Author:
Matthew McDermott, SPHR is an experienced Employee Benefits Consultant with The Landmark Group in Rochester, NY. If you wish to reach him regarding this or any other benefits related issue, please contact him at (585) 272-1956 x206 or by email at mmcdermott <at> landmarkinsurance.net.
While Preferred Care has traditionally offered free COBRA billing, it’s parent, Schenectady based MVP Health Care has not. In a letter to their employer clients this week, they have announced that they will be discontinuing free COBRA billing effective 1/1/2010. They will make COBRA services available through their Upstate Administrative Services subsidiary on a fee basis.
