Research and Projects

California

Accessing the Cutting Edge - Implementing Technology to Transform Quality in SE Kern

Description:  Develops a regional collaborative and business plan for implementing health IT in a rural region; also conducts a telemedicine demonstration project to assess the barriers and issues of broad health IT intervention including telemedicine/teleradiology, scan/store medical record, chronic disease registry and personal health record, and linking the region's partners.

Abstract:  DESCRIPTION (PROVIDED BY THE APPLICANT): This project focuses on southeast Kern County, where 74% of all deaths are related to chronic disease even though 91% of the population is under 65 years of age. Based on the findings of our planning grant activities, there are three critical issues that must be addressed in order to improve quality and chronic disease management in this region, those being infrastructure, access, and education. The findings and issues of the planning grant efforts have led to three Key Aims, those being:

Key Aim 1: Build infrastructure: Create a culture, organization and mechanisms that promote safe, high quality care;
Key Aim 2: Enhance the health professions workforce through education and organization; and
Key Aim 3: Enhance quality care using HIT, focusing on diabetic care as a model.

Multiple, comprehensive HIT strategies within these Key Aims will be implemented and evaluated including: 1) developing a shared clinical data repository; 2) implementing a provider integration strategy which we have called an Integrated Technology Association ("ITA"); 3) implementing a telemedicine network that puts teleconsultation and teleCME at the provider desktop with the more costly equipment at the hospital, and focusing on the health conditions that are problematic in the region: first on diabetes, second on women's health issues and dermatology, and third on heart disease; 4) developing a model chronic disease intervention addressing diabetes, that in Year Three will be translated into a broader model for the providers; 5) implementing a web based personal health record for the diabetic population; 6) developing a unique HIT curriculum and training experience for health professionals; 7) designing and implementing a series of Ql studies and interventions built upon the data in the shared clinical data repository; 8) implementing a series of e-health alerts for providers that include patient information; and 9) evaluating both the process and impact of all of these interventions.

Year 1 Funding:  $492,043

Estimated Total Funding:  $1,484,361

Principal Investigator:  Kiki Nocella

Applicant Institution:  Tehachapi Hospital

City/Town:  Tehachapi, California

State:  California

Grant Number:  UC1 HS016146-01

Category:  Implementation Grants (THQIT)

Thesaurus Terms:  chronic disease/disorder, community health service, computer assisted patient care, computer system design /evaluation, health care quality, health care service planning, medically underserved population, patient care management, patient safety/medical error, rural area, automated medical record system, cooperative study, health care referral /consultation, health care service availability, health care service utilization, patient /disease registry, radiology, telemedicine, training, behavioral /social science research tag, clinical research, health services research tag, human subject, patient oriented research

Project Start Date:  Sep 30, 2005

Project End Date:  Sep 29, 2008