A new medical e-records collaboration in West Michigan has already brought seven new jobs to Greater Grand Rapids and looks to create several new technology positions in coming months.
Michigan Health Connect (4829 E. Beltline Grand Rapids), a collaborative effort of
Spectrum Health,
Metro Health and
Trinity Health (
Saint Mary's Health Care), launched in 2009 as a collaborative effort to connect all area hospitals, physicians, laboratories and pharmacies through a common electronic data-sharing network. What began with one employee and three hospitals has grown to become a nonprofit organization with eight staff members who are working with 50 Michigan hospitals and over 800 physicians' offices to connect patient data.
"A patient can opt out, but if they participate, this system will allow their data to be collected, so if they show up at the emergency room or their physician's office, the [healthcare network] can pull up the patient's record and understand what's going on," says Executive Director Doug Dietzman. "This system will get rid of the need for records to be faxed, the need for patients to fill out new forms, and patients won't need to remember who they've seen or what was diagnosed."
Dietzman says the goal is to connect patient records within a healthcare system, as well as between different healthcare systems, so patients can receive informed care no matter where they're being treated.
In addition to the efforts to get interested healthcare facilities on one electronic database developed by Salt Lake City, Utah-based Medicity, Michigan Health Connect helps individual offices customize the system and trains users.
"We'll need more project managers and analysts to help us deploy the solutions and conduct training sessions," Dietzman says. "We'll also be taking on our own human resources, IT and financial support, which is outsourced now."
Source: Doug Dietzman, George Bosnjak, Michigan Health Connect
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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