Knoxville’s East TN Health Information Network

Gets Boost with Funds

Knoxville to Build a Regional Connectivity Bridge to Real-Time Clinical

Information Benefiting Physicians, Patient Care

Knoxville, TN (Nov. 7, 2005) Thanks to a grant of nearly $1 million, a Knoxville-based health information network will improve healthcare providers’ access to electronic information and clinical data, and will ultimately enhance patient care in East Tennessee.

East Tennessee Health Information Network (etHIN) is a collaborator, along with the grant recipient, the Patient Safety Institute (PSI) in Plano, Tex., in a grant from the Physicians’ Foundation for Health Systems Excellence. The 12-month grant to PSI is for $985,000, and will enable etHIN and PSI to develop the first phase of a self-sustaining Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO). The grant will leverage each organization’s success in connecting physicians, hospitals, payers and consumers, thereby allowing them to share clinical information at the point of care or decision.

The grant will fund a system to be developed that will ultimately allow physicians (with patients’ permission) to access medical records at any participating health care facility in East Tennessee. Work in the first phase will be setting up the computer systems and networks that will provide secure connections for patients and their physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare providers to access medical records. Participation in the program would be voluntary for both the patients and the healthcare providers.

Participating physicians will have improved ability to view patient data electronically from a variety of health care providers who participate in the network. A specialized software portal will be developed and made available to physicians to access patient medical history, medication history, lab results, and immunization history for example. More precise care for patient safety is one of the goals of the network. The portal will provide access for physicians to health information resources, medical reference libraries, clinical trials information and hospital information to aid them in performing their tasks on a daily basis.

etHIN is a collaborative group made up of representatives from Knoxville’s four major health systems – Baptist Health System, Covenant Health, St. Mary’s Health System and University Health System – and Technology 2020. Tech 2020 is a public-private partnership working to leverage East Tennessee’s technical resources. Plans are to expand the network to include local physicians and physician groups, other health providers, payers, laboratories, pharmacies, and diagnostic centers as well as consumers. The network is co-managed by Dennis Corley of Digital Crossing Networks and Alan Hill of ClearPath Group. Corley says that the idea for the network emerged in late 2002 when the Chief Information Officers from the four health systems began looking for ways that they could work together to reduce healthcare delivery costs and improve patient care. “Our region owes a great deal to the CIOs at the leading health institutions for deciding to work collaboratively in the best interests of the patients they serve,” Hill said.

The Chief Executive Officer of PSI, a national organization supporting the development of clinical information sharing networks, said is etHIN an exemplary partner for collaboration on the regional demonstration project.

“We were looking for a community that had already taken steps to establish connectivity among healthcare providers, and which could grow into a model that could be replicated around the country,” said Johnny Walker, PSI CEO. “PSI has been continually impressed by the progress of etHIN and the support of the community in creating medical data interconnectivity at the point of care. Knoxville has a unique collaboration that creates a near-perfect environment to demonstrate the effectiveness and lower cost of a self-sustaining system.”

In the first of three phases, PSI and etHIN will create a physician portal and demonstrate community-wide interoperability. When fully functional in phase II, the portal will offer participating physicians access to a composite, aggregated patient-centric view of clinical data provided by other providers who are also participating in the network. Today the majority of information about a patient is paper-based and is cumbersome and time consuming to move place to place for timely patient care. Many times the patient is responsible for gathering their own records and taking them to their next appointment. This initiative will seek to move East Tennessee into the electronic age at an accelerated pace.

Phases II and III will build on the technology and work completed in this first phase. The subsequent phases will focus on implementing, operating and expanding the community-wide connectivity. Over the course of phase II and III, the network will transition from being dependent on outside funding to one that is self-funding and self-sustaining thereafter. At the end of Phase III, etHIN’s model would look similar to the financial industry today with transaction cards. Just like you present your debit card for payment today to access your private bank account you would be able to use your “etHIN Member Card” to access your private health records at your next healthcare visit. It will be quick, secure, and accurate allowing for faster and more precise care for the patient. Also similar to transaction card networks, it will be financially self-sustaining with those that get value out of the network paying an appropriate fee to use the network.

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“The secure, privacy protected electronic exchange of health information is one of the most powerful ways available to ensure patient safety, improve health care quality, reduce costs, and empower patients. I applaud today's announcement and the East Tennessee Health Information Network's leadership,” said Tennessee Senator Bill Frist, M.D.

“I am pleased to see the East Tennessee Health Information Network receive this valuable funding,” said Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander. “Advances in health information technology will help improve the quality of care Americans receive and reduce the costs of healthcare in the United States. I am glad to see Knoxville’s healthcare leaders working together to advance health information technology efforts.”

“I was very pleased to learn that etHIN in partnership with the Patient Safety Institute out of Dallas is being awarded a significant grant from the Physician’s Foundation for Health Systems Excellence. The etHIN program is a tremendous example of area collaboration, and I have no doubt this funding will only enhance the good work being done by this organization.” Congressman, John J. Duncan, Jr.

“Knoxville is proud to have been selected by the Physician’s Foundation Grant and the Patient Safety Institute to become a model in providing medical information to physicians at the point of care. The future in this area of quality improvement will bear the stamp: Made in Knoxville to work for people everywhere” said Mike Ragsdale, Knox County Mayor.

"Knoxville's health-care leaders are to be commended for working together to in this effort to improve the quality of care in our community while lowering the cost of health-care delivery," City of Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam. "Their efforts to accomplish these goals, while at the same time maintaining patients' confidentiality, is not only good for our City, but has the potential to be a model for the nation."

"Now is the time for meaningful transformation of the U.S. health care system. Tennessee organizations are well-positioned to lead the nation in developing and adopting technology solutions to improve patient care while lowering overall costs," said Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matthew Kisber. "The partnership between the East Tennessee Health Information Network and the Patient Safety Institute is a great example of health care, business and community leaders working collaboratively to create a data sharing model that is proactive and sustainable. Your goals in Knoxville align with Governor Bredesen's goals for the Volunteer eHealth Initiative that promotes technology adoption and regional data sharing to be at the frontier of health care."

"The Tennessee Medical Association is excited that the road to a possible nationwide information network designed to help patients and physicians will now come through Tennessee. In medicine, knowledge is critical to patient care, safety, and quality. This grant will allow for continued development of a much needed resource for East Tennessee patients and eventually the nation. " Russ Miller Sr. Vice President of Tennessee Medical Association .

This is a great opportunity for our community to help shape the development of an Electronic Health Record which is a federal initiative. Baptist Health System welcomes the opportunity to share our lnformation Technology investments to improve access to clinical information by all physicians who deliver timely and quality health care to the residents of East Tennessee. The infrastructure this grant can provide will clearly help in meeting our goal to ensure all health care providers have the information they need, while allowing us to meet our responsibilities to the residents to protect their personal and health information. Chester Maze, Senior Vice President, Information Systems, Baptist Health System.

Covenant Health is pleased to be a part of this effort to put the Knoxville community at the forefront of health care. The grant will help etHIN advance the use of technology and electronic communications to improve the quality of patient care and reduce the cost of healthcare delivery. – Tony Spezia, Covenant Health President and CEO.

The grant represents the first steps of an exciting journey. Knoxville area hospitals are on the leading edge when it comes to collaboration on a shared vision of excellence. Our goal is to implement a technology framework that will evolve into a sustainable information management model that will have a significant impact on the Knoxville community. Lessons learned from these efforts may then contribute to national healthcare improvement initiatives in a great way. – Mike Ward, Covenant Health CIO

“St. Mary's Health System (SMHS) welcomes this opportunity to use the latest in information technology to improve patient care in the East Tennessee area,” said SMHS CIO John Schlenker.  This grant will provide the foundation for physicians to access patient information anytime, anyplace.  When patients receive care in different health care settings, this information will be readily available to physicians and caregivers. Accurate and timely patient information is one of the keys to improving the health of the people of the East Tennessee community," Schlenker said.

"This grant award to etHIN shows how a health care community can come together for the common good of the population. We at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and our subsidiary, SharedHealth, applaud this achievement and Knoxville's commitment to quality health care." Bruce H. Taffel, M. D.,Chief Medical Officer Government Business and Emerging Markets, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and Chief Medical Officer

SharedHealth.

About Patient Safety Institute

Patient Safety Institute (PSI) is a national, non-profit, patient-centric 501(c)(3) open membership organization that is dedicated to supporting communities across the nation in their development of clinical information sharing networks.

PSI is governed by leading consumer, physician and hospital advocates. It is formed to provide the healthcare community with a commonly owned, inclusive, multi-stakeholder network utility to improve patient safety, quality of care and lower costs.

PSI is not a vendor and does not promote a proprietary technology or product. PSI offers national connectivity of clinical information through a representative, collaborative organization, like VISA^®, that allows communities and organizations to achieve success together, that they could never achieve individually.

For more information on PSI, please visit www.ptsafety.org.

About etHIN

The East Tennessee Health Information Network (etHIN) had its foundational beginnings in the fall of 2002 and in less than two years had an operational platform with real applications started in June, 2004. Currently, the network is comprised of the four major health systems in the Knoxville area which represents 72% of available beds in a 16 county East Tennessee region. Technology 2020 with the Digital Crossing co-location facility hosts the network. etHIN’s goal is to develop into a robust, multi-stakeholder Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) for the region of Knox County and its surrounding counties that can be a model for other communities.

For more information on etHIN contact Alan Hill at (865) 522-0360 or ahill@clearpathgroup.com or Dennis Corley at (865) 673-9464 or corley@digitalcrossing.net.

About Physicians’ Foundation for Health Systems Excellence

Physicians’ Foundation for Health Systems Excellence (PFHSE) is a $98 million grant making foundation established in 2004 as part of a settlement in a class action lawsuit between physicians, medical societies, and Aetna, Inc.

PFHSE devotes its resources to helping physicians improve the care they deliver to their patients. The Foundation provides grants to non-profit organizations for innovative, practice-based projects that provide physician education or address quality of care or patient safety issues.

For more information on PFHSE, please visit www.physiciansfoundation.org.

Interviews available from the following contacts:

Lisa Stearns, Baptist Health System – 865-632-5677

Teresa Gross, Covenant Health - 865-374-0433

Craig Griffith, St. Mary’s Health System 865-545-7565

Lisa McNeal, University Health System 865-544-6845

Alan Hill, ClearPath Group – 865-522-0360

Dennis Corley, Digital Crossing Networks, 865-673-6464

Tom Rogers, Technology 2020 - 865-220-2020

Johnny Walker, Patient Safety Institute - (972) 516-4260