The Health Services Opportunities Collaborative (HSOC) of the Central Kenai Peninsula of Alaska is a group of public and private organizations working together to increase resources and access to health services. Linkages will reduce patient waits, increase information sharing, and increase access to new telehealth services. Patient safety will be increased during referral and transfer by the real-time/immediate access to patient information, including medication information, when the clinician requires it. Quality of care will increase through the strengthening of wrap-around patient care and increased access to care. Central Peninsula General Hospital, INC (CPGH), a small rural hospital, is proposing to develop a technology team to assess current tech resources of our four primary partners and other interested partners, and to prepare a plan for implementation of health information technologies to allow for area-wide electronic communications and connectivity with electronic health records (EHR), and a patient support web-based data system. Partners include the federally qualified health center (FQHC) for uninsured and underinsured patients; the mental health clinic; the long-term care provider; and the local acute care hospital. Other partners may opt in. Services to be linked include: acute care, emergency, long-term care, mental health, dental, primary care, public health nursing, and residential chemical dependency. The planning process will ensure the following: 1) control will be distributed among all participants; 2) implementation will be non-disruptive to existing infrastructure; 3) security will be ensured; 4) cost-effectiveness; and 5) that the network platform will support current and future healthcare applications. The investigative team and coordination committee will assist partners to assess, plan and adopt strategies for Health Information Technologies (HIT) implementation in 2005-2006. Particular benefit for Native Alaskans, disabled, and those meeting the federal poverty income guidelines are expected due to the current patient demographics of these agencies.
