The Glenwood Medical Center, a primary care Rural Health Center is attached and closely integrated with the Glacial Ridge Hospital an independent, not-for-profit, 19 bed critical access hospital located in Glenwood Minnesota. The Glenwood Medical Center employs seven family practice physicians, one general vascular surgeon, one OB/GYN, and four family nurse practitioners.
Heidi Engle, CIO, notes that Glenwood has been using EHR Healthland since 2006. “Going from a paper-based medical record system to an EHR was quite a challenge, but we persisted with a strong leadership team realizes that technology is key to providing high quality care.”
Initially, to set up the system, the team at Glenwood did one-on-one training with nurse/provider teams. Engle said, “Overall, we figured out that the process changes and workflow deviations are the biggest challenge but not the software itself.”
The key strategy used was to establish a Clinical Steering Committee with 20 individuals from different parts of the organization who met regularly to discuss developments in EHR application and review EHR workflow projects that cut across organizational boundaries.
In March of this year, Glenwood delivered meaningful use reports on their providers to the Regional Extension and Assistance Center for HIT in Minnesota and North Dakota (REACH). REACH is a program of Key Health Alliance, a partnership between Stratis Health, National Rural Health Resource Center, and the College of St. Scholastica.
REACH used a specially developed attestation tool available from the HHS Office of the National Coordinator to confirm the meaningful use achievement. Glenwood is one of the first non-Medicaid eligible rural health clinics in the nations to meet ambulatory meaningful use for all their providers.
As Engle points out, “Over the years, we have created over a hundred process maps, detailed training guides, newsletters, and a” tips & tricks” email notification system, to assist our end users in the use of an EHR application. Other healthcare facilities look to our Clinical Steering Committee for guidance and support as they implement an EHR within their own facility.
In other actions, Minnesota’s State Innovation Model (SIM) has announced three active RFPs related to emerging professions, to e-health roadmaps, and to e-health grants. The first RFP, the “Minnesota Emerging Professions Integration Grant Program” fosters the integration of emerging professions such as community health workers, community paramedics, dental therapists, and advanced dental therapists into the workforce.
Up to $180,000 will be available for six grants for up to $30,000 each. Eligible applicants can be from any type of organization that can employ an emerging professional. Applications are due June 5, 2014. For more information, contact Will Wilson at 651-201-3842.
The second RFP issued” Minnesota e-Health Roadmaps to Advance the Minnesota Accountable Health Model” is due June 19, 2014. Each e-Health Roadmap will describe a path forward and a framework to enable providers to effectively use e-health to participate. Up to $600,000 is available to fund the proposals.
The third RFP referred to as Minnesota Accountable Health Model e-Health grants will support secure, seamless, and real-time exchange of medical or health-related information between organizations that want to participate in the Minnesota Accountable Health Model.
The grants with funding up to $1,000,000 will be used to help partners communicate across different settings, such as clinics, hospitals, long term care, behavioral health, social services, and local public health facilities.
Dr. Karen DeSalvo ONC for HIT will be the opening keynote speaker for the 10th Annual Minnesota e-Health Summit to be held June 11-12, 2014. The two day event will explore optimizing the use of EHRs and other health IT to connect health information to transform healthcare and public health.
Go to www.health.state.lmn.us/e-health/summitt/summit2014.html for more information.