PMC pilots new healthcare project - Hospital first to go live online with KHIE
By TEDDY PAYNTER
Staff Writer
ANOTHER FIRST: Pikeville Medical Center Interim Chief Operating Officer Juanita Deskins (left) introduces Interim VP/Chief Information Officer Rusty Shanklin (center) during a press conference at the State Capitol in Frankfort to discuss the launching of the Kentucky Health Information Exchange program. Also pictured are Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (right) and Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Janie Miller (rear).
FRANKFORT - Pikeville Medical Center is the first hospital in Kentucky to go live with a new technology that will allow healthcare providers to access and exchange important medical information to facilitate quality patient care.
During an April 20 press conference at the State Capitol, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and federal officials announced the creation of Kentucky Health Information Exchange (KHIE), a program in which PMC has been involved for nearly three months.
The governor recognized the hospital for helping launch a major milestone in healthcare information technology.
“Our state is on the cutting-edge of the health information exchange movement, and we are working hard every day to build a statewide network of healthcare providers,” Beshear said.
Funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through its Medicaid Transformation Grant program, KHIE allows the Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) to begin exchanging medical information with hospitals and clinics as the first step in creating a statewide network.
Information available through the network will include patient data such as prescriptions, previous treatment, lab and diagnostic test results, immunizations, and other basic information.
Currently, only Medicaid information is available to be shared among healthcare facilities. PMC, the pilot healthcare facility, is among only six hospitals and one clinic currently participating in KHIE.
“We were the very first hospital to go live on the system,” said PMC Interim Vice President/Chief Information Officer Rusty Shanklin. “The project will create a method for our physicians to access information about a patient’s medical history to help us provide the best quality care.”
Shanklin said PMC began the technology process approximately three months ago.
“(PMC Programmer Analyst) Scott Spearman is a big reason we are here in Frankfort today,” Shanklin said. “He was the one who got the ball rolling on this project.”
“Pikeville Medical Center has been responsible for many ‘firsts’ in healthcare in our region, and being the first hospital to join the Kentucky Health Information Exchange is an important advancement of which we are extremely proud,” said PMC President/Chief Executive Officer Walter E. May.
Pikeville Medical Center and others were selected to participate in KHIE on the basis of technological readiness, volume of Medicaid patients, and referral patterns by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS).
“The Cabinet for Health and Family Services recognizes the significance of offering a secure, statewide electronic information infrastructure, and Pikeville Medical Center is pleased to take the lead in participating in an initiative that will allow us to deliver patient care more efficiently and improve patient outcomes,” May added.
Shanklin said the project was something that Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo had been working on for several years.
“I know this is something that he is very passionate about,” Shanklin said. “To see this project move ahead, I am sure he is very excited about this day.” CHFS Secretary Janie Miller said KHIE is an important step forward in building the exchange network.
“By working through Medicaid, which provides health coverage for more than 790,000 Kentuckians, we are able to begin to establish a system that will help us find ways to use the resulting data to improve quality and reduce costs,” she said. DMS Commissioner Elizabeth Johnson said the ability to exchange electronic health information will dramatically improve the quality of care for Medicaid patients across the state.
“By reducing the number of duplicative tests and treatments, it also means a reduction in costs,” she said. KHIE has been established thanks to a $4.9 million grant, awarded to Kentucky by the federal Department for Health and Human Services in 2007 to improve Medicaid efficiency, the economy, and quality of care using technology.
Gov. Beshear said other participating providers include Appalachian Regional Health Care, Central Baptist Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital, Trover Medical Clinic, University of Kentucky Hospital, and University of Louisville Hospital.
He said 10 or 12 other hospitals have been identified as potential participants to join the system. He also said it is the state’s intention to “hopefully” have all hospitals connected within the next nine months.
“I am so proud of our hospital stepping up and leading the way with improving the healthcare system and providing better healthcare for our patients through the use of technology,” said PMC Interim Chief Operating Officer Juanita Deskins.
