Governor Ted Strickland was jubilant in announcing the $26 million federal grant at the Cleveland Clinic.
GOVERNOR STRICKLAND:
"Today with this effort, we can spread the power of electronic records to more doctors, more patients, and toward the better health care for Ohioans."
Ohio's share of the funding will be divided among seven newly created regional centers, and run by the Ohio Health Information Partnership.
The plan is designed to streamline health care and reduce costs by connecting patient records electronically.
They will cover physician practices in 77 of the state's 88 counties.
Medical professionals in Cleveland for the Governor's announcement enthusiastically endorsed the program.
Dr. Martin Harris of the Cleveland Clinic is a national leader in the push for enhanced record keeping, and a member of the O-H-I-P Board.
DR. MARTIN HARRIS:
"The awarding of the seven regional extension center grants will begin enabling Ohio-based companies with expertise in implementing health information technology systems, to directly service the needs of the physicians of our state, for the benefit of their patients."
Harris says too many errors and duplications exist in the current system of records keeping, and doctors having patient histories literally at their fingertips - will not only save money, but likely save lives.
States had applied for shares of a $36 billion dollar federal program, and no state received more than Ohio, which has already launched a smaller effort on its own.
This is the second major health record keeping grant this year for Ohio. In February, OHIP was awarded $15 million to establish a health information exchange, part of which went to a program announced last week, with 17 Midwestern colleges across 10 states combining to teach how to operate the systems. That program is being headed by Cuyahoga Community College.
Now, the CASE Western Reserve University School of Medicine gets $7.9 million dollars to work with more than 17-hundred doctors in its' region, which encompasses Lorain, Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, and Cuyahoga Counties.
Dean of the Medical School, Dr. Pamela Davis says, the benefits are far-reaching.
DR. PAMELA DAVIS:
"The more electronic medical records are commonplace, the better off all of our patients will be. These improvements will help physicians make better choices in the moment, and raise the overall health and well being of our entire community."
The Akron Regional Hospital Association will get $3.9 million to assist nearly 900 more primary care physicians in its 11 county area.
The Greater Cincinnati area is being included under a different grant, in conjunction with Kentucky and Indiana, and will receive another 9 million dollars for that effort.
Rick Jackson, 90.3
The entire breakdown:
Akron Regional Hospital Association will receive $3,928,500 to assist 873 primary care physicians.
Case Western Reserve University will receive $7,942,500 to assist 1,765 primary care physicians.
Central Ohio Health Information Exchange will receive $6,084,000 to assist 1,352 primary care physicians.
Greater Dayton Area Health Information Network will receive $2,898,000 to assist 644 primary care physicians.
Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio will receive $2,875,500 to assist 639 primary care physicians.
Northeast Ohio HealthForce will receive $1,453,500 to assist 323 primary care physicians.
Ohio University will receive $1,818,000 to assist 404 primary care physicians.
