Institute for Health Technology Transformation- Educational Programs, White Papers, Analysis

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"Of all the things that I have been affiliated with in recent times, this is really a first rate program and really is one of the best"

Todd Rothenhaus MD, CMIO, Steward Healthcare

"Thanks for a very rich conference. I was glad to connect with thought leaders in health care IT from provider organizations, IT companies, pharma and health plans. For me, this conference is valuable because I get to hear new ideas from a handful of leaders from different sectors who are driving innovation in healthcare IT. Thanks again for a very powerful conference."

Thomas Check, CIO, Visiting Nurse Service of New York

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11:25 - 12:10pm

Opening Keynote “Role of Innovation at Sharp HealthCare”

While not a research organization, innovation at Sharp is pragmatically driven by business initiatives. The presentation will illuminate the strategies and practices through which Sharp has achieved the accomplishments in which it is most proud. Discussion will include challenges and strategies related to IT alignment with business models, creating a positive team culture and leveraging the application of IT to drive down costs and improve outcomes.

Bill Spooner has been CIO for the past 15 of his 30 years at Sharp HealthCare. He has led an aggressive IT effort that placed Sharp on the Hospitals and Health Networks 100 Most Wired list for the first 11 years since the list was established. Sharp was an early leader in electronic health records, as the development site for a robust hospital EHR since the mid-1980s. More recently, Spooner spearheaded the rollout of industry-leading EHR’s in both the Sharp hospitals and its medical groups. Sharp has received several awards for its foremost consumer web site. Sharp recently launched its mySharp portal to more closely engage its patients in their care. IT was cited for its contributions to Sharp’s 2007 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

William Spooner
Chief Information Officer
Sharp Healthcare

Click Here to Download Presentation

2:30-3:15pm

Presentation “Beacon Community Research Study: Reducing Hospital Readmissions via Remote Patient Management”

Research design includes 8 acute care institutions within the Central Indiana Beacon Community Program (ARRA Sponsored) through the Indiana Health Information Exchange, subcontracting with St. Vincent Health for the remote patient management and nurse monitoring. Project is recruiting 3000 patients recently discharged with diagnoses of CHF and/or COPD, randomized into equal groups. Intervention group will receive mobile wireless hub device and peripherals in their home for 30 days to monitor vitals and provide individual educational sessions with cardiac-trained nurses using video conferencing. Additional educational content and surveys of current symptoms are pushed to the patient's home device relevant to their specific chronic disease(s). Control group receives usual follow up from their local institution. The study outcomes will compare ED visits and readmissions within 30 days post-discharge between the two groups, as well as patient management skills and understanding of their underlying disease process.

Alan Snell, MD, MMM
Chief Medical Informatics Officer
St. Vincent Health and Indiana Health Information Exchange

Click Here to Download Presentation

10:00 – 10:45am

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Case Study “Finding Success in a Large and Diverse Multi-State HIE”

Kansas Health Information Network (KHIN) has implemented a health information exchange (HIE) to connect a broad geographic region that covers large urban and rural areas in Kansas and Missouri. KHIN’s goal is to connect 80% of all health care providers by 2016. This total will include 105 counties in Kansas and 12 counties in Missouri, 112 hospitals, 6300 eligible providers, 175 rural health and safety net clinics, 71 public health departments, 22 community mental health centers, 600 pharmacies and 125 labs. KHIN founding organizations include the Kansas Medical Society, the Kansas Hospital Association, and the two health information exchange organizations representing the large urban areas, eHealthAlign in Kansas City and the Wichita Health Information Exchange (WHIE).

Dr. McCrary and Ms. Boyle-Townsend will provide a high-level overview of the KHIN project discussing how this model works well for both urban and rural communities and how it is bringing this community model to all participants, not just to hospitals. They will also discuss how KHIN defines a community as well as the challenges of linking both urban and rural settings with their implicit differences. Kansas has more critical access hospitals than any other state in the U.S., and Dr. McCrary and Ms. Boyle-Townsend will share how this model can be replicated elsewhere in the country.

Currently, KHIN is in the process of building its participant base and developing criteria to evaluate those who are ready to connect. In addition, they will present an overview of the CareAlign® platform, provided by ICA, which enables the exchange of patient information across this broad and diverse geographic and demographic area.