Bredesen e-health initiative could jumpstart electronic medical records in Midstate

Veteran technology executive Agassi to be gov's emissary to healthcare industry and consumers

Email | Print By Milt Capps

04-06-2006 6:39 PM — Gov. Phil Bredesen not only formalized his e-Health initiative Thursday afternoon with an executive order, but also signalled a more focused push in central Tennessee to accelerate adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs).

Middle Tennessee is the only region of the state without a unified regional health information project in-place. Elsewhere, initiatives include CareSpark, the Tri-Cities project that builds on a full three years' work; the Memphis-based MidSouth eHealth Alliance; and, Knoxville's Eastern Tennessee Health Information Network, where a million dollar grant has energized collaboration among four major hospitals.

Bredesen's order establishing the eHealth Advisory Council also put the spotlight on Antoine Agassi, a veteran of Spheris and WebMD corporate information technology operations, who will chair the new council, while reporting to Commissioner of Finance and Administration Dave Goetz.

In an interview with NashvillePost.com, Agassi said, "I think that the stakeholders in Middle Tennessee need the spark to bring them together."

Virtually all members of the mandated 16 on the new council have been identified, but their names were not released. Their appointments are being processed by a member of the governor's staff, for later announcement. They represent such groups as payers and consumers, regional health care information organizations, employers and, of course, representatives of the medical and hospital communities.

Agassi noted that eventually, particularly if health savings accounts (HSAs) become common, more banking and financial stakeholders will be brought into Council activities.

Data provided today with Bredesen's Executive Order 35 said Tennessee ranks fourth in receipt of federal funds for development and adoption of EMRs. The state is one of five to receive $5 million federal grants for these purposes.

Agassi said one of his primary charges is to ensure that, beyond dependence on grant funding, Tennessee health information infrastructure initiatives become sustainable by employing a "business model" that attracts full engagement of all stakeholders, while ensuring greatest possible "transparency" with respect to planning, information security, use of data and other vital issues.

He said necessary discussions with Middle Tennessee stakeholders have begun, with an early emphasis on collaboration among all parties operating within what he frequently describes as the health information "ecosystem." Agassi said the framework for the Council's work must accommodate legitimate competition, as well as partnership.

Agassi made clear in conversation he will employ taut project management discipline, analyzing impact, identifying and removing barriers to change and implementation, and identifying strategic and tactical advantages.

As needed, Agassi will recruit from Council members and non-members persons with necessary expertise to pursue well defined tasks through subcommittees. Among many possible focal points: a myriad of procedural and technology standards; data-sharing agreements; and, intergovernmental relations and complementarity of legislation and policy. He said subcommittees will begin meeting in May.

Emphasis on management and sharing of healthcare information has risen dramatically in recent years, spurred in part by congressional action creating the 21st Century Health Information Act of 2005.

Agassi's prior experience includes roles as chief technology officer for Spheris; executive vice president and chief information officer for WebMD, and, earlier, CIO for Envoy Corp. At another point, he was a management information systems executive with a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan in New York state. He earned his B.S. in computer science at SUNY-Utica, and his MBA from Syracuse University.