Rural Populations

Citizens Memorial Healthcare (CMH) will establish the standardization efforts necessary for data capture of quality measures in an ambulatory EMR system and demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of using a data extraction and reporting expert to perform quality measurement in the ambulatory care setting. CMH will standardize and integrate data capture for quality of care measurement into the normal documentation of care within the ambulatory EMR.

Explored health IT as a method of sharing patient information and developed an electronic health record for patients who utilize rural, urban, acute, and rehabilitation facilities.

Expanded the reporting of medical errors and near misses, monitored safety event reporting, and developed a learning network among small, rural hospitals and their associated ambulatory care facilities, long-term care facilities, and home health agencies.

Created a detailed assessment of the feasibility of health IT implementation including the development of an implementation plan, specification of clinical and organizational needs, identification of goals, and identification of barriers and ways to address those barriers.

Expands upon an electronic medical records-sharing initiative for high-risk infants and their families in Mississippi, linking new health centers and clinics and serving a rural area that spans 17 counties; uses telemedicine technologies to enhance evidence-based developmental care for newborns in acute care hospitals; and creates Web-based decision support resources for physicians who care for infants.

Planned the implementation of a regional health record system within established networks of rural hospitals, clinics, public health providers, behavioral health providers, and others across a 14,000 square mile remote area.

Integrated an office-based EMR within an acute care hospital, rural community health centers, a community mental health center, a family medicine residency, private physician practices, and a home nursing service for improving use of the EMR as a clinical tool, integrate clinical data, and increase access to the data.

Established a Web-based electronic medical record system for 10 small rural hospitals to connect them to the area's regional medical center. The project's ultimate goal was to quickly give all providers access to patient data, eliminate duplicate tests and exams, deliver high-quality care, reduce medical errors and track health outcomes.

Developed a database that includes diagnoses, health records, and educational information on children with special health care needs, with emphasis on children with genetic conditions and developmental disabilities. This information was made available to physicians via a secure Web-based system.

Develop a comprehensive plan for health IT implementation and integration by assessing specific clinical and organizational needs, feasibility of health IT implementation, defining project parameters, developing the implementation plan, and specifying procedures for ongoing evaluation and feedback.