Indian Health Service beefing up EMR to meet meaningful use

Even federal EMR systems apparently fall short of proposed "meaningful use" requirements.

The Indian Health Service is upgrading its Resource and Patient Management System EMR to support health information exchange and a master patient index, according to a new report from the IHS Office of Information Technology. The service also will re-certify its EMR for ambulatory care and, for the first time, seek certification of its home-grown RPMS as an inpatient EMR that meets 2011 standards to help providers achieve meaningful use.

The Office of IT also plans on hiring new staff and contractors to "optimize the implementation" of RPMS. This process will include the addition of a dashboard to help improve patient flow in emergency departments and urgent care clinics. Another important addition is care management event tracking to help ensure that high-risk patients get regular screenings and diagnostic tests, as well as the necessary follow-up care.

To learn more:
- check out this Federal Computer Week story

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