Hoosier Hospital Leaders to be Honored at White House

June 19, 2012

News Release

Indianapolis, Ind. -- Dr. Lisa Harris, CEO and Medical Director for Wishard Health Services, and Dr. Alan Snell, Chief Medical Informatics Officer for St.Vincent Health, are two of 82 healthcare providers from across the country whose progress in health IT will be recognized by the White House and Health and Human Services (HHS) at a Health IT Town Hall event in Washington, D.C. today.

During the Town Hall, senior White House and HHS officials will discuss progress and barriers to a national health IT system and the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs). Dr. Harris and Dr. Snell and other healthcare providers will share their insights on the important role that health IT programs, such as the Beacon Community Program, have played in helping them implement EHRs and support health care improvements through IT-enabled interventions.

“I am honored to join Dr. Snell in representing the Indiana Health Information Exchange and the Central Indiana Beacon Community at the White House,” said Dr. Harris. “Indiana is recognized as a national leader in health IT. I look forward to sharing how what we’re doing right here in our community is helping to enhance the effectiveness, quality, efficiency and safety of health care delivered across the country.”

Under the leadership of Dr. Harris and Dr. Snell, Wishard and St.Vincent have been active participants in the Central Beacon Community Program since its launch in 2010. Efforts in the 46-county Central Indiana Beacon Community region are centrally organized by the Indiana Health Information Exchange, with funding from the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC). The goals of the program are to drive improvements for patients and the community by supporting:

• better chronic disease management

• better utilization of healthcare services

• timely preventative care services

• meaningful use of health information technology

• a real-world national health IT model that achieves measurable and sustainable improvements

“Dr. Harris and Dr. Snell are trailblazers for improving healthcare through the implementation of innovative health IT solutions,” said Harold J. Apple, CEO and President of IHIE. “We are fortunate to have such dedicated health advocates in Indiana committed to establishing a health information exchange model for the nation.”

The funded-portion of the three-year Beacon Community Program is still months away from completion; however, early results in Central Indiana are showing positive signs of improvements. For example, one of the program’s targets is to increase the percentage of patients receiving colorectal cancer screenings.

In March 2010, prior to the Beacon program, 57.54 percent of the measured population received the necessary procedure. As of December 31, 2011, more than 66 percent of patients who needed the test were screened, representing an 8.5 percent increase.

“It is an honor to be invited with Dr. Lisa Harris, and nearly 100 experts in health IT, to join the staff of the Office of the National Coordinator of health IT,” said Dr. Snell. “I look forward to hearing stories of how health IT is improving the care and lives of millions of Americans today. It is an exciting opportunity to exchange ideas with leaders from across the country, and to learn more about the future direction of ONC to deploy more technology, and further connect healthcare consumers to their providers.”

About the Beacon Community Program

The Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program is part of a larger movement to modernize healthcare that demonstrates how health IT investments and Meaningful Use of EHRs advance the vision of patient-centered care, while achieving the three-part aim of better health, better care at lower cost. The HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is providing $250 million over three years to 17 selected communities throughout the United States that have already made inroads in the development of secure, private, and accurate systems of EHR adoption and health information exchange. Each of the communities, with its unique population and regional context, is actively pursuing the following areas of focus:

• Building and strengthening the health IT infrastructure and exchange capabilities within communities, positioning each community to pursue a new level of sustainable health care quality and efficiency over the coming years;

• Translating investments in health IT in the short run to measurable improvements in cost, quality and population health; and

• Developing innovative approaches to performance measurement, technology and care delivery to accelerate evidence generation for new approaches.

These investments are part of a larger movement to modernize health care, and will position communities to achieve measurable improvements in population health, care and cost, and succeed in a transformed payment environment. To learn more about EHR adoption, meaningful use and other areas of health IT, visit www.healthit.gov.

About Indiana Health Information Exchange, Inc.

Indiana Health Information Exchange, Inc. (IHIE) is the nation's largest health information exchange organization. IHIE is responsible for securely delivering clinical information to assist with care coordination and improving patient outcomes to more than 90 hospitals and 20,000 physicians. Healthcare providers trust IHIE to deliver critical patient data when and where it is needed most. In addition to hospitals, IHIE also serves long-term care facilities, immediate care centers, public health centers and freestanding labs and imaging centers. IHIE is a non-profit corporation formed by the Regenstrief Institute, private hospitals, local and state health departments, BioCrossroads and other prominent organizations in Indiana. To learn more, visit www.ihie.org

St.Vincent Hospitals and Health Services

Driven by the faith of four Daughters of Charity who arrived in Indianapolis in 1881 with $34.77 in their pockets, the St.Vincent Hospital mission is to treat the poor and sick by following our Core Values of Service of the Poor, Reverence, Integrity, Wisdom, Creativity and Dedication. Our healthcare ministry has grown to include six Centers of Excellence: Women’s, Children’s, Orthopedics, Cardiovascular, Neuroscience and Cancer Care. The ageless mission of St.Vincent remains unchanged: to minister to the minds, bodies and spirits of those in need.

About Wishard Health Services

For more than 150 years, Wishard Health Services has provided high-quality, cost-effective, patient-centered health care to the residents of Marion County. Accredited by The Joint Commission, nationally recognized programs include a Level I trauma center, regional burn center, comprehensive senior care program, women’s and children’s services, teen and adolescent care programs, Midtown Community Mental Health Center, and a network of primary care sites located throughout the neighborhoods of Indianapolis. In partnership with the Regenstrief Institute, Wishard conducts groundbreaking work that leads health information technology around the globe. Wishard also serves as the sponsoring hospital for Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services. As the public hospital division of the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Wishard partners with the Indiana University School of Medicine whose physicians provide a comprehensive range of primary and specialty care services. In 2009, Marion County voters approved construction of a new Wishard hospital with 85 percent support for the measure. Wishard has received a $40 million gift from Indianapolis’ Sidney and Lois Eskenazi, in honor of whom Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County has named the new hospital facilities. The Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital is slated to open in December 2013, and the name of the health system will change to Eskenazi Health in January 2014.

Source: Wishard Health Services