Demonstration project agreement will create secure medical records sharing system across state lines
Minneapolis, MN, May 14, 2007 -- John Fraser of MEDNETWorld.com in Minneapolis and Rick Moore of eHealth Ohio have signed an agreement Friday for MEDNET to provide training, consulting and security services to eHealth Ohio as they set up a secure network for sharing medical records both within Ohio and between Ohio and a similar system already created by MEDNET in Duluth, MN, in partnership with the Community Health Information Collaborative (CHIC).
This pilot project will demonstrate the feasibility of a secure national medical records exchange network. How? By allowing health practitioners to transfer patient records both within a single state system and between state systems operating under the same Federally-approved secure medical record transfer protocol. The US secure healthcare transaction market is approximately $2.65 billion dollars with a service market of over 250 million insured people and 1.5 million healthcare providers.
With the current system, if you are injured while out of town and taken to a hospital unconscious, the care providers have no way to access your medical records and no way to find out if you are under any treatments or have any ailments or allergies (unless you carry that information with you and they find it).
With the MEDNET network, the hospital can run your Visa-style insurance card through a secure reader and gain access to all medical records attached to your name, regardless of what hospital or clinic they are at. In emergency situations, this can mean the difference between life and death.
About MEDNET
MEDNET is a Twin Cities-based firm creating a system that will allow providers, payers, emergency rooms, public health, and other health care participants, access to the important health care and insurance information on patients at any time and anywhere while fully protecting patient privacy.
About eHealth Ohio eHealth
Ohio (Formerly OHIO for EDI) is a non-profit, statewide volunteer collaborative effort of public and private organizations providing assistance to the Ohio health care industry in HIPAA and Health Information Technology implementation. Incorporated in 2002, eHealth Ohio consists of state and federal agencies, professional associations, health plans and other private organizations.
About CHIC
The Community Health Information Collaborative (CHIC), is a non-profit, 501(c) (3) corporation headquartered in Duluth, MN. Its focus is to initiate projects that promote health information exchange across care settings and to share costs and best practices across the membership.
Contact Cheryl Stephens, Executive Director at: 218.625.5515. "http://www.medinfosystems.com
For more information Contact: Rick Moore President eHealth Ohio Email: rkmoore@ehealthohio.org (614) 877-813-9750
