The first is designed to steer the nation more rapidly toward the era of electronic health records, while the second is intended to induce more Tennessee pharmacists and physicians to adopt information technologies for safely transmitting prescriptions among providers, druggists and patients.
Antoine Agassi, chairman and director of Gov. Phil Bredesen's e-Health Advisory Council, will serve as a member of the steering committee overseeing a new national effort to accelerate adoption of the best strategies and practices for regional health-information organizations (RHIO) nationwide.
Agassi's appointment was announced earlier today by the Foundation of Research and Education (FORE) of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).
Agassi is one of ten members of the steering committee, which is tasked with researching RHIOs' policies and practices, designing a model for state-level RHIOs, conducting a conference on the subject in July, and then spreading information about the most effective e-Health strategies nationwide.
The National Conference of State legislatures will collaborate with the FORE Consensus Project, which is due to complete its work by Aug. 31, 2006. (Related story on Nashville's role in health informatics.)
Also today, a Tennessee campaign to promote e-prescription, dubbed "Get Connected" was unveiled. Alexandria, Va.-based SureScripts, the company that offers physicians and pharmacists its SureScripts Electronic Prescribing Network, is heading the campaign along with several in-state allies, including the Tennessee Pharmacists Association, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and others.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee spokesperson Mary Thompson told NashvillePost.com today that in coming months the Blues will offer incentives to providers to adopt e-prescription, will conduct e-prescription demonstrations with SureScripts, and will encourage e-prescription via the Blues' SharedHealth subsidiary.
The Bredesen Administration issued a statement today endorsing SureScripts' efforts to "streamline the health care system" in Tennessee. Through Agassi, the governor signalled support of the SureScripts effort to offer physicians and pharmacists an assessment of the current state of their in-office technology, and an estimate of what time and expense would be entailed in bringing each office online for e-prescribing.
Tennessee was one of thirteen states chosen for the initial "Get Connected" push, based on SureScripts' estimate of the state's low use of e-prescribing. Simultaneously, SureScripts announced that Rhode Island had the highest rate of adoption of e-prescribing, followed by Nevada, Massachusetts, Maryland and Florida.
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