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GOAL
HIIU’s goal is to coordinate the establishment of a uniform statewide healthcare information system for the state of Utah.
REASON
A uniform statewide
healthcare information system that produces Coordinated Patient Records may have a greater impact on both the
quality and the cost of healthcare in the state of Utah than any other initiative.
COORDINATED PATIENT RECORDS
An average person’s healthcare record is scattered among at least 13
different locations. Even within a given location, healthcare records
are not coordinated. Just walk into any hospital, doctor’s office or
emergency room and ask to see your medical record. At each site, you
will only find bits and pieces of fragmented information. In addition,
it is a monumental task to get healthcare records transferred from one
healthcare site to another.
A uniform statewide healthcare
information system will produce Coordinated Patient Records. These are
single, comprehensive, privacy-protected, patient-controlled records
that will be continuously available to the patient, and will be
appropriately available whenever and wherever a patient presents for
care. This system will give each patient control of their own
healthcare. In addition, it will support each patient’s right to be
seen efficiently at any caresite in the state.
QUALITY IMPLICATIONS
Coordinated Patient Records will eliminate the need for patients and
physicians to rely on memory, repetition and guesswork at every
caresite. They will significantly reduce the incidences of
misdiagnosis, inappropriate medication, duplication of tests, frequent
emergency room visits, unnecessary hospitalizations, and fraud.
COST IMPLICATIONS
In addition to its negative impact on the quality of care, the
fragmentation of healthcare information is also a major contributor to
the high cost of healthcare in the state. Utah’s total healthcare
budget last year was about $12 billion. Numerous studies have shown
that at least 20% of all healthcare dollars are attributable to
administrative waste. Last year in Utah that amount was about $2.4
billion.
If you follow the
distribution of dollars throughout the current healthcare system, you
will find that the major underlying cause of administrative waste is the
fragmentation of information. The coordination of healthcare
information and the resultant elimination of administrative waste will
significantly reduce Utah’s total healthcare expenses.
REACHING THE GOAL
If a sufficient number of
individuals, families, corporations, self-employed individuals, and
healthcare professionals want a uniform healthcare information system
in Utah, it will be established.
There is great strength in numbers. At this point, all HIIU is asking
for is an indication of your support.
If you have questions or comments, please Contact Us or join our Blog discussions.
If you support HIIU’s initiative, please fill out the form in the Support HIIU section.
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