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Massachusetts To Launch EMR System;
Report Finds CPOE Savings
iHealthBeat.org
December 7, 2004
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (D) on Monday announced an initiative that would allow state physicians to access electronic patient records from hospitals and clinics in Massachusetts, which could improve patient safety and save the state millions of dollars, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports. The goal is to implement a statewide system within five years.
The program will begin as a pilot project in three communities, which have not yet been selected, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts will provide $50 million in funding for the project.
Micky Tripathi, the project's leader, said Massachusetts could become the first to have a statewide electronic medical record system, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports. Indiana has a similar program, but he said it lacks the funding and industry support of the Massachusetts program. Tripathi said hospitals and physicians have had no financial incentive to pay for an electronic records system that primarily benefits insurance companies, but this might not be a concern now that an insurance company is involved, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports.
Romney said the records system would ensure that patients can determine who sees their records. Consumer advocacy organization the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group said patients should have personal identification numbers to control access to their records (Peter, AP/Sacramento Bee, 12/7).
Report: CPOE Could Save Millions For Mass. Hospitals
Massachusetts hospitals could save $275 million annually with computerized physician order entry systems, according to a report from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the Boston Globe reports.
It would cost $210 million to install CPOE or update existing technology in 46 Massachusetts hospitals, but the hospitals would save money through error reduction, according to the report, which First Consulting Group analyzed. The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a "quasi-public agency," proposed that hospital and health plans split the cost of CPOE, the Globe reports. Massachusetts Hospital Association President Ronald Hollander said the organization supports use of the technology, but he would not commit to hospitals paying for half of the cost of CPOE systems.
Some area hospitals already have plans to install CPOE. Partners HealthCare said it will spend $30.5 million over five years to expand CPOE from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital to its other hospitals and it will provide EMRs to all of its physicians, the Globe reports. Children's Hospital Boston will spend $35 million over three years to install similar systems. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center also has invested millions of dollars on a computerized drug and test order entry system (Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, 12/7).
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