Health IT Transformations in Free Clinics
Health Information Technology plays an important role in addressing health disparities. There are over 1,400 Free Clinics in the United States. Free Clinics in general do not qualify for HITECH programs. This creates a considerable gap in our National Health IT Agenda. TATE has recognized the importance of filling this “gap” in order to advance the Health IT Transformations underway in the United States. Please click here for a brief overview of Free Clinics.
Health IT Transformations in Free Clinics is a charter project of TATE. The project is supported through volunteer efforts that emulates in many ways, the work of volunteers in Free Clinics today — a community based partnership of industry, healthcare volunteers, academia, and social entrepreneurs. The project will create re-usable models of community engagement that can be transposed and scaled across the country.
Tom M. Gomez is the Principal Architect of Health IT Transformations in Free Clinics.
Goals:
To transform patient care and reduce health disparities through the use of Health Information Technology in Free Clinics.
Objectives :
- Achieve Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) in Free Clinics consistent with the national health IT agenda.
- Connect Free Clinics to State Level Health Information Exchanges and the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN).
- Develop and support a Practice Based Research Network (PBRN) focused on conducting health disparities research and quality improvement studies in Free Clinics.
- Advance the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) in Free Clinics
Current Status:
- Current implementations in Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Ohio
- To date – 15 EHR implementations completed or in various stages of implementation; 400+ users
- 2012 Goal – Implement EHRs in at least 25 Free Clinics in FL; and 10-15 implementations in other states.
- 2013 Goal – 120 Clinics with EHRs; 3,500 – 5,000 users
- Collaborating with Free Clinics to build/scale FREENet
- Partnership with the American Academy of Family Physicians National Research Network (AAFP NRN) & DARTNet Institute
- EHR data extracts, applications – enhanced reporting capabilities
Please click here (PDF Brief) to learn more about the project and Get Involved. Recent presentations on "Health IT Transformations in Free Clincis" may be found here.