California HealthCare Foundation – Supporting ideas and innovations to improve health care for all Californians.

Health IT

Information technology is still fairly new and untested in health care, making experimentation, analysis and evaluation critically important. CHCF regularly conducts research and commissions surveys and reports on emerging technology trends and related policy and regulatory issues. Below are related publications.

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What's Ahead for EHRs: Experts Weigh In

February 2012

Industry experts from health care and informatics ponder the future of electronic health records during and beyond the implementation of meaningful use.

Direct Dermatology: Specialist Consult Without the Wait

December 2011

CHCF invests in Direct Dermatology, a telemedicine group that provides remote dermatology consultations, expanding access to expert, convenient, and affordable specialty care.

Request for Proposals: Using Electronic Data Standards to Communicate Laboratory Orders

December 2011

Lab orders and results are often sent by fax or mail. CHCF has allocated $300,000 to implement and test electronic data exchange using the ELINCS Orders specification. Proposals were due January 20.

Shared Networks of Interpreter Services, at Relatively Low Cost, Can Help Providers Serve Patients with Limited English Skills

October 2011

Hospitals often view language interpreter services as too costly. A study in Health Affairs shows eight California facilities saved money by using the Health Care Interpreter Network.

Trendspotting: How IT Triggers Better Care in Nursing Homes

September 2011

Electronic clinical decision support tools can help nursing home staff compile data and spot trends for pressure ulcers and other dangerous, but preventable, conditions.

Small Practice eDesign

September 2011

Small medical practices often lack the resources to implement electronic practice management systems. A pilot project in Tulare County helped integrate EHRs.

Accelerating Health Care Technology Innovation Competition

September 2011

The William J. von Liebig Center has awarded five technology ventures $100,000 each to take their ideas for addressing care shortcomings from prototype to production.

Tools for Quality

August 2011

Chronic disease management systems can help track multiple chronic conditions. In 2008, six philanthropies launched this initiative to enable community clinics adopt CDMS technology.

Extending Care Virtually Through Telemedicine

June 22, 2011

Telemedicine has introduced new opportunities to expand access and improve quality in the primary care setting. Learn about two successful programs.

Measuring the Impact of Patient Portals: What the Literature Tells Us

May 2011

A small but growing body of research offers information about the extent to which patients are using portals, what their demographics are, and which features they are using. There is little data that links the use of portals with health care quality, long-term outcomes, or provider efficiency.

The State of Health Information Technology in California

May 2011

This series of reports provides a comprehensive overview of health IT adoption and use in California among physicians, hospitals, and community clinics, as well as consumer perspectives on the topic.

California Clinical Data Project: CALINX Standards

March 2011

This initiative will improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of care by promoting the integration of clinical data at the point of care. Uniform standards have been developed for pharmacy (CALINX Rx) and laboratory (CALINX Lab) data.

ELINCS: The National Lab Data Standard for Electronic Health Records

March 2011

ELINCS is the EHR-Lab Interoperability and Connectivity Specification. It standardizes the formatting and coding of electronic messages exchanged between clinical laboratories and ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) systems. Adopting clinical data standards such as ELINCS helps health care providers deliver the right care by making information available at the right time.

The Connected Patient: Charting the Vital Signs of Remote Health Monitoring

February 2011

This report describes the range of technologies that can enable remote health monitoring and examines the prospects for these applications in the current health care context.

Health Topics: 80% of Internet Users Gather Health Information Online

February 2011

The Internet is a critical tool for gathering health information. A survey finds 80% of Internet users look online for health information, making it the third most popular online pursuit following email and using a search engine.

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