Statewide electronic networks get new life

A Kentucky physician legislator puts a new twist on an idea introduced and rejected in the 1990s.

By Tyler Chin, AMNews staff. March 4, 2002.

Kentucky lawmakers are considering legislation that could lead to a statewide electronic health network linking doctors, hospitals, insurers, researchers and public health agencies.

The proposed bill directs a state board to study the feasibility of building a statewide network and propose an architecture for its infrastructure by Nov. 1, said state Sen. Daniel Mongiardo, MD, who co-authored the bill with state Rep. Paul Bather.

"It would be an all-encompassing network that would exchange financial, administrative, clinical and research [information] amongst providers, insurance companies and everybody that touches health care, including public health," said Dr. Mongiardo, an otolaryngologist in Hazard, Ky. "We see this as the first step toward building a statewide network to reduce the ineffectiveness inherent in the current system."

For example, the cost of transmitting claims electronically could be lowered to 25 cents, down from the $7 to $8 it costs to process claims on paper, he said.

To address concerns about the privacy and confidentiality of medical records, Dr. Mongiardo said that he envisions the proposed network being loosely modeled on Napster. The online music-swapping service was forced to effectively shut down last year after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that it had infringed on the copyright rights of the recording industry. [...]