Statewide health data exchange going live in Maine

The state of Maine will soon go line with a statewide health records network connecting 15 hospitals, three clinics and the state's Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This puts the state second in line only to Delaware, whose system only exchanges laboratory data.

The two-year program, known as HealthInfoNet, attempts to prove that giving providers a real-time stream of electronic patient information can lower costs and improve quality of care. The state also expects to use the system to track outbreaks of infectious diseases such as the H1N1 swine flu, Lyme disease and tuberculosis.

The system already houses information on 400,000 Maine patients from affiliates of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, Central Maine Healthcare, MaineGeneral Medical Centers and MaineHealth. It also includes data from medical practices affiliate with Martin's Point Health Care in Portland.

The project will be steered by key clinicians at the various sites. These clinicians, dubbed "clinical champions," will be the first to use the data. They'll then help colleagues start to use the system.

To learn more about this project:
- read this Bangor Daily News piece

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