The Institute for Disability Studies (IDS) at The University of Southern Mississippi; one county acute care hospital, Forrest General Hospital; and a private neonatology practice, Southern Mississippi Neonatology Group are completing a HIT planning grant (Project CONNECT). Heightened interest from the surrounding medical community resulted in an expansion of the partnership for the 3-year Implementation Phase to include Hattiesburg Clinic, the largest multi-specialty clinic in the state, and Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative and its 9 rural family health centers which serve medically-underserved communities. Together these partner agencies serve a primarily rural 17-county area. Goals to be met include: Develop multimedia portable Personal Developmental/Health Records containing records from multiple sources for infants at high risk for neurodevelopmental sequelae documenting areas warranting close medical/developmental surveillance and promoting effective information sharing among care providers. Facilitate interagency communication related to an interoperable system for electronic sharing of medical records among Forrest General Hospital, Hattiesburg Clinic, and Southeast Mississippi Rural Health clinics to ensure timely and accurate diagnosis and treatment of NICU infants post-discharge as well as to provide electronic access to health information which will populate the patient's portable Personal Developmental/Health Record. ? Use telemedicine technologies (secure peer-to-peer videoconferencing/training DVDs) to enhance and expand the use of evidence-based developmental care practices in NICUs in acute care hospitals in Mississippi through training and bedside consultation among medical and applicable medically-related staff. Develop and maintain multimedia Web-based resources on the FGHWeb page to serve as a Decision Support System containing developmental surveillance information, and to meet multiple asynchronous (anytime) training and information-sharing purposes including continuing medical education, parent education, and demonstration to primary care providers. Relevance to Public Health: Technology used to promote developmental care in the NICU and encourage bedside consultation between physicians can result in improved neurologic and general health of infants discharged from the Newborn Intensive Care. NICU infants are often seen by many follow-up specialists, family practice physicans, nurse practitioners, and Emergency Room physicans in the first years of life. Personal Developmental/Health Records created for the most at-risk infants will allow parents to have a portable up-to-date health record (with clinic notes, medications, lab work, etc.) which they can provide to primary pracititioners in the community, ensuring developmental follow-up and continuity of care.
