BUSINESSKansas is testing a Medicaid database to aid decision-makingThe pilot study, giving doctors electronic access to records of Medicaid patients, will last one to two years.By Tyler Chin, amednews staff. May 8, 2006. The state of Kansas and FirstGuard Health Plan, a Medicaid HMO, have launched a pilot program giving physicians online access to key medical information of Medicaid patients. Under the test, approximately 150 physicians at a dozen sites in the Wichita, Kan.-area will be able to access certain information belonging to 30,000 residents of Sedgwick County who are members of Kansas City, Mo.-based FirstGuard. With their patient's consent, participating doctors and hospital emergency department personnel can access patients' demographic information as well as what doctors and diagnoses they have had while enrolled in the Medicaid program. Physicians also can access medication history, allergies and immunizations. The primary data source is claims data, with physicians entering allergy information into a centralized database, said Robert Day, PhD, director of the Kansas Division of Health Policy and Finance, which oversees the state's health purchasing. Laboratory results and electronic prescribing functionality also will be added to the system within the next few months. Among the motivating factors for launching the pilot, said Dr. Day, are better patient care and safety and a desire to prepare the state for a future national health information network, an effort pushed by President Bush and the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2006 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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