With the goals of improving health care delivery, outcomes, and the quality and value of patient care throughout the state, Gov. Tom Corbett established the Pennsylvania eHealth Collaborative through an
executive order on July 27, 2011.
The executive order calls for the state’s new collaborative to provide leadership and strategic direction in health information technology (HIT) initiatives, including health information exchange (HIE) capabilities.
A long-time advocate for the development of a statewide HIE, the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) was one of the founding members and supporters of the former Pennsylvania Health Information Exchange (PHIX) system. PAMED testified last year in support of re-establishing PHIX and worked closely with the administration to ensure the continuation of these efforts in the form of the eHealth Collaborative.
HIEs benefit physicians and patients by making organized data accessible to physicians at the point of care and providing reports that help physicians look at their practices in new and innovative ways. An HIE can help improve care coordination, patient safety, public health outcomes, and patient-physician quality time during office visits, in turn preventing medical errors and reducing redundant tests and procedures and overall health care costs.
“A statewide health information exchange would open the door for better health in Pennsylvania,” said Ralph Schmeltz, MD, president of PAMED, in his
testimony before the Communications and Technology Committee last year.