LOS ANGELES – Care Health Plan is planning to release a second round of healthcare information technology grants in 2010 to position local community clinics to take advantage of HITECH Act funds.

The largest U.S. public health plan’s grants support its mission to aid safety-net providers, provide funding for their long-term needs and address healthcare IT disparities, said Roland Palencia, director of community benefit programs.

“The end game is to improve quality of care, give providers the information they need and empower patients to make decisions even in the face of adversity,” he said. High tech is enabling clinics to engage in high touch, driving patient-centered care, he said.

Some of the nine community clinic recipients of L.A. Care Health Plan’s grants last fall have gone live with their systems, while others are in the implementation stage.

Asian Pacific Health Care Venture (APHCV) went live with i2iSystems’ population registry application, i2iTracks, in December 2008, said Mika Aoki, director of services. APHCV has been tracking referrals and follow-ups for patients with diabetes and depression, and for women’s healthcare screenings.

The automated process of data capture has resulted in reductions in labor and errors, and the ability to manage a bigger population group, which has positively impacted APHCV’s quality improvement initiatives.

The tracking system is a stepping-stone to an electronic health record (EHR), Aoki said. APHCV has put together an EHR work group and hopes to implement an EHR system in 2011, she said.

Saban Free Clinic went live with i2iTracks in May 2009 with the goal of tracking interventions, follow-ups and treatment plans for patients with chronic conditions, said Saban’s chief medical officer, Jehni Robinson, MD.

The clinic focused first on diabetes and asthma. It has already seen a 10 percent increase, to 65 percent to 70 percent, in the number of diabetics having completed eye and dental exams, she said. Automation enabled staff to work on other projects and resulted in fewer errors in some indicators and more efficient services, which allows the clinic to handle the increased patient load.

“We know we have to go there,” Robinson said of EHR implementation. “But the big ‘if’ is funding. It’s the big barrier.”  n
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