The Indian Health Services (IHS) https://www.ihs.gov within HHS, provides a comprehensive health delivery system for approximately 2.3 American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) in partnership with the 573 federally recognized Tribes. Several action are underway to improve services and quality serving the American Indian and Alaska Natives population in order to upgrade technology especially in rural communities.
The Office of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) https://www.hhs.gov/cto within HHS just awarded a contract with funding to launch a research project to focus on health IT modernization at the Indian Health Service.
Structured in close collaboration with senior IHS staff and the Office of the National Coordinator, the contract was awarded to Emerging Sun LLC http://www.emergingsun.com located in Bethesda Maryland along with subcontractors Pistis, LLC and the Regenstrief Institute.
Modernizing health IT at the IHS, will mean that the IHS “Resource and Patient Management System” will need to be updated. IHS is already working on several initiatives to improve and upgrade the care provided in its hospitals and clinics. These initiatives include developing a quality dashboard to track compliance and quality efforts, and acquiring a new credentialing software system to ensure that providers have necessary qualifications.
HHS recently published their “FY 2018 Agency Financial Report” that includes a chapter titled “Ensuring Quality and Integrity in Programs Serving American Indian/Alaska Native Populations”
According to a section in the financial report, IHS is expanding access to services through new telehealth contracts and upgrading standards for patient appointment setting and wait times. IHS is also testing all mechanisms at hospitals to ensure that patient information is fully recoverable.
Go to https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fy-2018-hhs-agency-financial-report.pdf for the report “Department of Health and Human Services FY 2018-Agency Financial Report.”