Leading the Way
In recent years, Palo Alto Medical Foundation's Chief Medical Information Officer, Dr. Paul Tang, has been helping to guide national policy toward EHR adoption. In addition, PAMF has also served as a model for fellow Sutter Health affiliates.
Guiding National Policy
Dr. Tang chaired the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Committee on Data Standards for Patient Safety, which issued a report in November 2003 calling for a national health information infrastructure to share information electronically.
Two months later, President Bush outlined a plan in his State of the Union Address to ensure that most Americans have EHRs within the next 10 years. Dr. Tang was subsequently invited by Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson to participate in an information technology summit in Washington, D.C. The goals: to make widespread adoption of EHRs a national priority, and to explore how financial incentives can help encourage providers to invest in and use EHR systems.
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Sutter Health Implements EHR
Sutter Health, the not-for-profit organization of which PAMF is an affiliate, has made a commitment to deploy an electronic health record (EHR) networkwide by the end of 2007. The system will be completed years ahead of the national EHR deadline set by the White House.
However, creating electronic health records is not new practice for the integrated health system. The Sutter project expands on EHR technology already benefiting patients at five Sutter-affiliated physician organizations and hospitals.
PAMF has been using an EHR since 1999.
In 2002, via PAMFOnline, PAMF was one of the first medical groups in the country to connect patients with their electronic health record.
Sutter affiliates Sutter Gould Medical Foundation in Modesto; Sutter Medical Foundation in Sacramento; Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento; Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae; and Novato Community Hospital also have been using EHR technology.
Read more about Sutter Health’s network-wide implementation of EHR.
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