CA RHIO Supported by CalPERS
The California Regional Health Information Organization received an endorsement from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). The organization notes the benefits of an RHIO as a tool to reduce the incidence of medical errors. The news was posted on the CalPERS website.
The California RHIO is a nonprofit organization that providers access to health information for both patients and healthcare providers. It is currently working on a new electronic medical information system intended to enhance the quality of care delivered to patients and assist with the reduction of medical errors.
This new system is designed to address the inadequacies of paper systems. Patient information stored in this manner is generally kept in separate medical offices, pharmacies, and hospitals. Even some paper-based systems that utilize computers are separated so that information cannot be easily shared. The other problem with this type of system is that records can be misread, lost, or inaccessible in the case of an emergency.
The development team at the California RHIO intends to reduce the amount of patient health information that is stored using paper records. The first phase of the project is to create a records sharing system for use in the emergency room.
CalPERS is the largest purchaser of health benefits throughout the State of California. Internal data from CalPERS indicates that it is the third largest purchaser of health benefits, after the federal government and General Motors. The organization notes that the RHIO plans have multiple benefits, such as those already cited, in addition to improving the coordination of care.
The group already requested that the three health insurance providers already working with CalPERS complete contracts with the California RHIO. The those providers are Kaiser Permanente, Anthem Blue Cross, and Blue Shield of California.
April 28, 2008 Related topics: Trends, Partnerships & Consortia, Contract Awards, Quality, Safety, Errors