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Health Care Solutions Series

By admin | January 17, 2006

Messerli & Kramer
Jennifer L. Berquam

A series of joint meetings focused on improving health care delivery and outcomes in Minnesota began, Tues., Jan. 17, with a review of the current and projected future uses of technology in health fields. Members of the Senate Health and Family Security Committee, chaired by Sen. Becky Lourey (DFL-Kerrick), and of the House Health Care Cost Containment Division, chaired by Rep. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka), will be meeting during the weeks leading up to the resumption of the legislative session to hear a variety of information.

Dr. Donald Connelly, director of the Health Informatics Division of the University of Minnesota Medical School, provided an overview of what health information technology (HIT) includes, what systems are currently available in the state and what barriers the industry faces in expanding the use of HIT in Minnesota. HIT can be used to facilitate work flow, communicate orders regarding patient care, and provide easy access to patient data for any medical professional who needs it, he said. However, Connelly noted, the health care arena has not historically been friendly to new computer technology. HIT adoption is not a panacea, he said, but it does offer tremendous improvements in dealing with medical errors, patient safety and quality of care.

Connelly outlined the major barriers to increased HIT adoption, including its significant up-front cost, the major cultural shift required and the variety of systems that are being used by providers across the state and nation. Dr. Gary Ofterdahl, medical director of Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, also discussed the ability of HIT to significantly improve the quality of patient care and to provide the best treatment choices for individual patients.

Health care can be greatly improved by encouraging public reporting of health care quality measures, said Jim Chase, executive director of Minnesota Community Measurement. Reporting offers both recognition for providers performing well and motivation for sub-par providers, he said. Chase said reporting will lead to fewer death, strokes, heart attacks and complications as the public, community leaders and health plans track reported data. Tami Lichtenberg, program manager for the Rural Health Resource Center in Duluth, discussed the challenges facing Greater Minnesota health care providers in adopting HIT and public reporting. She noted that smaller communities and smaller medical offices lack significant technological expertise and support, impeding their ability to participate. The joint panel also heard about the Dept. of Health’s e-Health Initiative, which is a public-private collaboration dedicated to accelerating the use of HIT in all areas of the state.

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