FRANKFORT, Ky. – To coincide with the national priority of implementation of health information technology (HIT), Gov. Steve Beshear announced Friday the creation of the Governor’s Office of Electronic Health Information within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS).
President Barack Obama’s administration is calling for universal adoption of electronic health records by 2014.
To access stimulus funds to support HIT, states are required to have the technology and other infrastructure in place to support electronic health records (EHR) and HIT. The Governor’s Office of Electronic Health Information will serve as the single point of contact with federal and state agencies involved with HIT.
“President Obama has made health care reform one of his top priorities, and health information exchange is a cornerstone of a national goal to improve health care quality,” Gov. Beshear said. “Many of our health care providers practice independently or in small groups and are located in rural areas. Our challenge is to bring together Kentucky’s stakeholders to assure that the development and use of health information exchange meets federally defined standards for privacy and security and to assure stakeholders that health information exchange is interoperable, sustainable and dependable.”
Those stakeholders include provider associations, the state’s three regional health information organizations (RHIOs), heath care practitioners and other providers, consumers, payors and others who will need to participate in the exchange of health information.
Through the leadership of Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, a practicing physician, Kentucky has been a leader in the e-health effort.
For almost 10 years, Mongiardo has been an advocate and leader to create an e-health initiative in Kentucky, long before the idea took hold nationally.
"To improve quality of care and reduce medical errors, we need to bring health care information technology into the 21st century. Billions are now being wasted on a paper driven system that has failed to keep pace with modern information technology. As a result, health care decisions are often made with incomplete information. By making health information records electronic, we can save lives and improve care," said Mongiardo.
The Kentucky E-Health Network Board, which is administratively attached to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, will also serve as an integral resource to the Office as it moves forward.
The Cabinet is already the lead on implementing a $4.9 million Medicaid Transformation Grant to develop the infrastructure to support the development of a statewide exchange of health information. This office will be responsible for developing a plan to apply for and expedite implementation of the Commonwealth’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) health information exchange grants. It is anticipated that the federal release of the grant applications will occur in late summer.
“The Governor’s action will allow the Commonwealth to be in a position to apply for federal stimulus funds for planning and implementation of health information exchange to support infrastructure and build resource capacity, particularly for underserved communities, said CHFS Secretary Janie Miller. “Initially, the office will be created by assigning existing resources within the Cabinet. Once efforts are underway it is expected that all states will receive federal stimulus dollars to expand our activities to fully plan and implement health information technology.”
“Kentucky has established a strong vision for the future of e-health in our state. The new Governor’s Office of Electronic Health Information can effectively take that vision to reality,” Gov. Beshear said. “We will respond quickly to opportunities that will afford our important health industry to take full advantage of incentive funds available under ARRA.”
