Three area hospitals join efforts to automate exchange of patient health information

Sharon Hanks

In an unusual collaboration among competitors, five Michigan hospitals -- including the three major ones in West Michigan -- are launching a grassroots effort to accelerate the creation of an electronic medical record system to exchange patient information and clinical results between health care providers.

The advancement would make the transfer of such things as lab work results, analysis of X-rays, and the transcriptions of physician clinical observations, a paperless exchange and virtually eliminate the need for fax machines or computer print-outs.

Hospital representatives announced the formation of a non-profit alliance called Michigan Health Connect last week, noting its goal matches that of the federal government which is attempting to speed up the migration with federal stimulus financial incentives.

Doug Dietzman, executive director of Michigan Health Connect in Grand Rapids, says local hospital officials have been meeting for the past several months to determine the best way to help health-care givers migrate to the same technological platform to allow a secure delivery of private patient health information. They already use the same software to share limited amount of information. 

With an electronic transfer, health care professionals could access at their fingertips the most up-to-date and accurate records of their patients, promptly allowing physicians in offices, clinics, nursing homes, hospitals and emergency rooms to make the best medical decisions for them. To learn more the importance of the electronic exchange, view a video hospital officials have posted on youtube.

Spearheading the drive in West Michigan are Metro Health, Spectrum Health and Novi-based Trinity Health, the home office for Saint Mary's Health Care in Grand Rapids and Muskegon Mercy Hospital. The remaining hospitals are Lakeland Health System in St. Joseph and Northern Michigan Regional Health System in Petoskey. Dietzman say the initiative would impact an estimated 175 physician's offices, hospitals, laboratories, long-term care and public health facilities, clinics and other community organization health care organizations in West Michigan.

"I think this attitude of collaboration . . . is somewhat rare across the country." says Dietzman. There are many stories about in-fighting among health care organizations in the country, he says. "They don't get along and will argue forever about control. The fact that this group (of competitors) got together and decided to collaborate will make the activities and implementation a lot easier."

Source: Doug Dietzman, executive director of Michigan Health Connect, Grand Rapids

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the
column to Sharon at [email protected]. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.