HealthCare News-AT&T expanding Health information Exchange
AT&T Inc.’s first statewide health information exchange, established in Tennessee, will be expanded to the entire country, AT&T said Monday.
The electronic health network has been in development by San Antonio, Texas-based AT&T (NYSE: T), since the beginning of the year, in partnership with Memphis-based MidSouth eHealth Alliance and the Governor’s eHealth Council.
The purpose was to deploy broadband connectivity for the state’s health care professionals. AT&T has created an online collaboration center called AT&T Healthcare Community Online — a Virtual Private Network-based portal — designed to securely enable such applications as:
- Prescribing drugs online.
- Securing clinical messaging among the state’s health care providers.
- Sharing images such as X-rays, MRIs and CT scans.
- Exchanging patient information via portable health records.
- Delivering telemedicine applications for remote diagnostics.
- Accessing laboratory systems.
- Accessing Tennessee Department of Health applications, including the immunization registry, disease registries, death certificate applications and processing and medical license renewal.
The nationwide system will add capabilities such as:
- Submitting patient registration and consent forms in advance of doctor visits.
- Verifying insurance and other patient coverage options.
- Electronic messaging among the state’s health care providers.
The nationwide information exchange initiative is a partnership among AT&T, Covisint , which is a subsidiary of Compuware Corp. (NASDAQ: CPWR), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). Users of Microsoft’s HealthVault software, which stores personal health information, can now share information with authorized physicians and health care providers connected to AT&T Healthcare Community Online.
Link:- http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2008/06/23/daily6.html
