Healthcare IT News - October 2007 - (Page 46)

46 Healthcare It News October 2007 ■ pAyERS www.HealthcareITNews.com South Carolina BCBS integrates EHRs with care plans By BErnIE MonEgaIn, Editor – BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina will provide its members and their doctors electronic personal health records that are integrated with medical care plans by the end of the year. The health plan announced last month it would be partCOLUMBIA, SC nering with New Jersey-based ParadigmHealth, a provider and integrator of care and disease management services. The two companies will make the new Integrated Care Management platform available to other insurance companies. The new platform will make it possible for South Carolina plan members to access their personal health records, containing clinical and lab information along with their claims data, in the secure My Insurance Manager section of the company’s Web site. Wellness information, tailored to the individual member, will be automatically included for members with chronic diseases or high- risk conditions, such as diabetes. The Integrated Care Management platform will enable BlueCross to fully integrate case management, disease management, maternity management, and high acuity complex care management data and dashboards on a single IT platform. “The health payer industry is accelerating the cycle of investment in care management platforms in response to care cost trends, consumerism, and needs of the employer group customer,” said David Boucher, BlueCross BlueShield South Carolina’s assistant vice president for healthcare services. More at HealthcareItnews.com e Connect: INteGrate 1007 ● We’ve Got You Covered. daKota Continued from page 43 opportunities in agencies such as the Department of Health and Department of Public Instruction.” For instance, if a family is eligible for food stamps, upon the family’s approval the system will automatically enroll the family’s children in the free and reduced lunch program. The MCI will also provide better longitudinal studies across multiple programs to determine whether the department is meeting client needs. “It opens up a world of opportunity for us,” said Witham. “It’s the beginning of doing a better job of service for our clients.” “States are recognizing the potential vAluE of a statewide implementation . . .” – Beverly Wheeler Initiate Systems has been supporting data-sharing initiatives with healthcare organizations, but Beverly Wheeler, director, state and local government for Initiate Systems, said data-sharing is a new trend in government. The North Dakota Medicaid implementation is a great example of building an environment that encourages collaboration among organizations, departments or agencies, she said. “States are recognizing the potential value of a statewide implementation or cross-departmental approaches – and this trend is certainly about the value of data-sharing across programs to ensure integrity, to achieve a common goal and/or respond to compliance mandates.” Besides ensuring that constituents are receiving the maximum benefits, the state also avoids duplicate or improper payments that constituents are registered to receive across programs. Aaron Zornes, chief research officer for IT research advisory firm CDI Institute, said government agencies are just like businesses – they need to know who their customers are. Master files enable federal and state agencies to manage complete customer views to provide better service and cut costs through streamlined processes. n More at HealthcareItnews.com e Connect: Dakota 1007 Online EVERY DAY E-newsletter Sent EVERY WEEK EVERY MONTH In Print For your free subscription, to sign up for our free e-newsletters, or for advertising information, visit www.HealthcareITNews.com ● 71 Pineland Drive, Suite 203 • New Gloucester, ME 04260 • (207) 688-6270 • www.medtechpublishing.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=7859 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=7854 http://www.medtechpublishing.com

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Healthcare IT News - October 2007 Contents Global Harmony Telegrowth New Rules Keeping Tabs What's Free? PHR of Its Own Intelligent Closing Practice Management Paper Tiger

Healthcare IT News - October 2007

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