Title
Approve and authorize the Contracts/Purchasing Officer to sign Amendment No. 5 to Agreement No. A-11307 with Oregon Community Health Information Network, Inc. to adjust authorization requirements for Care Everywhere.
Body
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Approve and authorize the Contracts/Purchasing Officer to sign Amendment No. 5 to Agreement No. A-11307 with Oregon Community Health Information Network, Inc. to adjust authorization requirements for Care Everywhere.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Membership in the Oregon Community Health Information Network, Inc. (OCHIN) enables the Monterey County Health Department to utilize Epic’s Practice Management (PM) and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Systems. The Health Department’s Clinic Services Bureau (Clinic Services) implemented the PM System in November 2007 which allowed Clinic Services to significantly increase charge capture and decrease the need for claim resubmissions. Clinic Services then implemented the EMR System from June to August 2010, facilitating Clinic Services’ progression towards a paperless system and resulting eligibility for meaningful use financial incentives through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). In early 2012, the Health Department’s Public Health Bureau also adopted the PM and EMR Systems. Significant increases in quality of documentation, consistency of care across all clinics and tracking of quality of care variables have been noted in the first year of implementation of the EMR.
One of the main objectives of using an electronic system is to improve the ability to provide continuity of care to patients; to securely share health information at local, state, and federal levels and among other OCHIN members and non-members using Epic’s software. Epic’s Care Everywhere is an application in Epic’s PM and EMR Systems that allows for instant sharing of confidential medical records over the Internet, via secure and encrypted connections.
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