BETHESDA, Md., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Major societies representing primary care practitioners and informatics professionals announced today the formal establishment of the National Alliance for Primary Care Informatics (NAPCI). The main objectives of this new alliance will be to work toward the inclusion of the needs of primary care practitioners in the development of a national information infrastructure to encourage the adoption of electronic health record systems in primary.
The founding organizations of NAPCI include: * American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), * American College of Physicians (ACP), * American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), * American Nurses Association (ANA), * National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), * North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG), * Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM), * and Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM).
The first project on NAPCI’s agenda is to bring together representatives of state governments to discuss payment, malpractice, and demographic issues that impact their state’s ability and desire to support EHR implementation. Several states are already working toward this goal and will be brought together to provide an overview on their current projects. Another major focus of NAPCI will be to educate primary care providers in the use of informatics and information technology in the practice of primary care, and facilitating work within NAPCI and between NAPCI and its member organizations and other organizations to be certain that the interests of primary care are addressed in the evolving health information infrastructure.
Delivery of excellent primary care -- which is central to overall care -- demands that providers have the necessary information when they give care. In the United States, only about 20% of primary care providers currently use an electronic health record (EHR). Many other countries are substantially further along with implementation of EHRs than the United States. Good EHR systems are available in the US, but for a variety of reasons their adoption has been slow.
“Care could be much safer, higher-quality, and less expensive if providers were using electronic health records routinely,” says Dr. David Bates, AMIA’s representative and Chair of NAPCI, and Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “While all providers should eventually use electronic health records, primary care is the logical place to start. The biggest reason that primary care providers aren’t making this jump is that the financial incentives aren’t aligned. Currently, although physicians have to make the investment, most of the financial benefits accrue to payers and purchasers.”
“The reason for bringing together these groups is so that primary care providers can speak with one voice,” comments Dr. John Zapp, a family physician who is one of the founders of NAPCI. “Other countries -- including Australia and most countries in Europe -- are far ahead on this path, in that they already have most primary care doctors using electronic health records, and are making major investment in information technology in health care. Other nations did this by bringing together providers to agree about what their needs were -- we need to do that as well.”
“Nurses and nurse practitioners working in primary care will increasingly be using electronic health records. We believe that EHR systems should accurately capture our work and integrate it with records from the multidisciplinary health care team,” said Dr. Melinda Jenkins, family nurse practitioner of Columbia University School of Nursing and NAPCI Board representative from NONPF.
“Like other primary care providers, pediatricians are far behind in using electronic health records,” notes Dr. Richard Shiffman, of Yale University School of Medicine, and the NAPCI Board representative from the AAP. “Financial assistance with making the initial investment in systems, and incentives for using electronic health records could make a big difference in getting technology adopted more widely in pediatric practices. Pediatricians also worry that EHR systems designed for adult patients often do not meet their needs. Also, systems containing hospital and ambulatory information, lab test and x-ray results, and reports from consultants have to be able to communicate with one another. NAPCI hopes to take a variety of steps to begin to address these issues.”
Administrative support for NAPCI is currently being provided by the American Medical Informatics Association. Efforts are underway by NAPCI to secure additional funding to carry forth programs relating to its mission. NAPCI is interested from hearing and working with other primary care organizations as well. More information on the National Alliance for Primary Care Informatics (NAPCI) is available at: http://www.napci.org/
Contact: Mary Ellen Doran 301-657-1291 ext. 105 maryellen@mail.amia.org
Primary Care Informatics
American Medical Informatics Association; National Alliance for
CONTACT: Mary Ellen Doran of the American Medical InformaticsAssociation, +1-301-657-1291, ext. 105, or maryellen@mail.amia.org
