MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich., June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Partnership for Michigan's Health today announced a collaborative effort to conduct a comprehensive statewide inventory of medical information technology -- both current and planned -- within Michigan's health provider community.
BCBSM will lead and finance the study with the cooperation of the three health provider associations that comprise the Partnership for Michigan's Health -- the Michigan State Medical Society, Michigan Osteopathic Association and the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.
"There is significant financial and intellectual investment underway in Michigan to improve the IT capabilities of hospitals, health systems and physician practices -- but these efforts are predominantly independent," said Daniel Loepp, CEO designate and chief of staff for BCBSM. "Savings can be realized, and the quality of health services improved, if we know where the potential for cooperation among health providers and payers exists, so we can work together."
"If physicians across Michigan can share IT applications, the benefits to the patient are clear -- more precise and accurate diagnoses, more effective treatment and faster coordination of health benefit information," said Kevin A. Kelly, executive director of the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS).
"Michigan hospitals and health systems are investing millions of dollars in IT improvements, both current and planned," said Spencer C. Johnson, president of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA). "Moving toward common IT platforms has the potential to save millions of dollars through administrative cost reduction and by preventing redundancies in the IT infrastructure. This improves the efficiency and quality of health services and saves money for patients, hospitals, physicians, insurers, the state and the business community."
"Long-term, it will cost significantly more for everyone to invest individually in IT systems that don't interrelate," said Dennis Paradis, M.P.H., executive director of the Michigan Osteopathic Association (MOA). "By establishing a baseline understanding of Michigan's IT health infrastructure, we can identify some common directions to go in the future and get to a point where we are all working with complementary technology."
Among the IT investments the BCBSM-MSMS-MOA-MHA state inventory study will catalog:
* Electronic Medical Record Databases * Hospital and Physician Web Portals * Compatibility and Connectivity of Business Systems * E-Prescribing Capabilities
The study will build upon a similar study by Ann Arbor-based CyberMichigan, an institute of Altarum. CyberMichigan, whose board of directors includes representatives from Michigan's state government, BCBSM, higher education institutions and private industry, outlined a Michigan Health Information Network vision in January 2005 that identified many current health-related IT initiatives throughout the state.
"CyberMichigan is contributing significantly to our understanding of the many health IT initiatives, applications and system-wide infrastructure investments underway in the state today," said William P. Smith, Senior Vice President and CIO for BCBSM and a member of the CyberMichigan board of directors. "We want to take their good work and use it as a head-start toward completing a comprehensive, detailed inventory this year that reflects the expertise and contributions of the state's health provider organizations and the Michigan Blues."
About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit corporation, provides or administers health care benefits to just over 4.7 million members through a variety of plans: Traditional Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Preferred, Community Blue and Healthy Blue PPOs, Blue Choice Point of Service, Blue Care Network HMO, and Blue HSA(SM) plans compatible with health savings accounts. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, visit http://www.bcbsm.com .
About the Partnership for Michigan's Health
The Partnership for Michigan's Health is an organization made up of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, the Michigan State Medical Society and the Michigan Osteopathic Association. The Partnership is working to improve Michigan's health status, reform the state's Medicaid system, and to keep health care assessable and affordable for all citizens.
About the Michigan State Medical Society
The Michigan State Medical Society is the professional association of 14,500 Michigan medical doctors headquartered in East Lansing and is affiliated with the American Medical Association. MSMS provides leadership in medical education, ethics, and communication and advocates for patients and the profession.
About the Michigan Osteopathic Association
The Michigan Osteopathic Association represents more than 5,000 osteopathic physicians and students and promotes the image of osteopathic medicine in Michigan by shaping the health care delivery system to better serve the community. To learn more about the MOA, visit the MOA Web site at http://www.mi-osteopathic.org .
About the Michigan Health & Hospital Association
The Michigan Health & Hospital Association is composed of a blend of hospitals and health systems, and other organizations involved in health care. Its mission is to advocate on behalf of hospitals, health systems and other providers committed to improving the community health status. For more information, go to http://www.mha.org .
Blue Cross Blue Shield of MichiganCONTACT: Helen Stojic of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan,+1-313-225-8113; Dave Fox of Michigan State Medical Society,+1-517-336-5731; Sherry Mirasola of Michigan Health & Hospital Association,+1-517-323-3443; or Jill Higgins of Michigan Osteopathic Association,+1-517-347-1555
