Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts To Fund EHR Systems in Three Cities

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Article Date: 31 Aug 2005 - 15:00 PDT

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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts is preparing to launch a $50 million "experiment" to fully implement electronic health records in three Massachusetts cities, the... Boston Globe reports. In Brockton, the largest of the test sites, a "diverse array" of hospitals, clinics, group practices and independent physician offices will have patient records transferred to electronic files. Through the new EHR systems, physicians will be able to review patient histories, order laboratory tests, check for potentially harmful combinations of drugs and prescribe drugs. In addition, physicians at emergency departments will be able to instantly review a patient's records from any connected physician office in the city, regardless of clinical affiliation. Some health networks in Massachusetts already have their own EHR systems, but their use is limited to providers within the networks. Carl Ascenzo, senior vice president and chief information officer at BCBS, said, "We really want to prove this is worth doing." Some experts have estimated that the cost of implementing an EHR system nationwide could be $230 billion (Rowland, Boston Globe, 8/29).

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts

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