CalRHIO Selects RAND-USC to Evaluate Savings Resulting from Use of Statewide Health...

CalRHIO Selects RAND-USC to Evaluate Savings Resulting from Use of Statewide
Health Information Exchange

California emergency departments first sites for savings measurement

SAN FRANCISCO, June 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CalRHIO announced today that
it has selected the RAND Corporation and the University of Southern California
to measure savings resulting from physicians having secure electronic access
to critical patient information through CalRHIO's statewide Health Information
Exchange (HIE). The first phase of the initiative will measure savings in
emergency departments.

"CalRHIO's goal is to improve patient safety and reduce costly avoidable or
duplicate services by making it possible for physicians to electronically
access patients' medical information when and where they need it for care
decisions - in the hospital, clinic, physician office, nursing home, or other
location," said Molly Coye, MD, MPH, CalRHIO Board Chair.

"Studies to date on savings from electronic health information exchange are
encouraging, but limited. We are delighted to partner with RAND and USC to
expand the base of knowledge, not only for CalRHIO, but for national, state,
and local policymakers. The experience and reputations of the RAND-USC
researchers lend an enormous amount of credibility to this pioneering effort."

CalRHIO, California's statewide health information exchange initiative,
selected RAND-USC following a competitive RFP process that involved review by
national HIE experts.

The RAND-USC team's approach draws on models and methods developed by both
organizations -- RAND as part of its ongoing national study of health IT, and
USC as part of its ongoing study of the operations and economics of
hospital-based emergency departments in California.

"The CalRHIO HIE is on the forefront of national efforts to use information
technology to improve both the quality and efficiency with which care is
delivered to patients. Providing emergency department physicians with access
to real-time patient information through the statewide health information
exchange is critical to improving decision making to ensure the right care is
delivered," said Cheryl Damberg, PhD, RAND principal investigator. "Because
CalRHIO represents the largest implementation of an information exchange in
the United States, our assessment of how the HIE affects the use of services
and hospital admissions will make a significant contribution towards
demonstrating the extent to which health IT systems can deliver savings."

CalRHIO has developed a sustainable business model that includes a "shared
savings" strategy, premised on the expectation that HIE will create savings
for health plans and that a portion of those savings provide CalRHIO a stable
ongoing source of self-funding for HIE. In the emergency department, better
information on the patient's medical history is expected to help physicians
avoid unnecessary tests and admissions and more efficiently prescribe
medications. To determine savings, the RAND/USC researchers will conduct
baseline measures for each participating health plan before HIE is implemented
and after the system has been in use. De-identified findings will be published
in peer-reviewed journals to inform other HIE efforts around the country.

"Emergency departments provide perhaps the most compelling case for both
quality gains and cost reductions in health information exchange," said Glenn
Melnick, PhD, USC Senior Advisor. "Our previous research found that California
emergency departments are busier than their counterparts nationally and their
patients are sicker. HIE has the potential to greatly improve care in the
emergency department and, through better communication, help primary care
physicians manage patients long-term. We are very excited to be associated
with this critical project."

About CalRHIO: CalRHIO is a 501(c)(3) organization that provides statewide
health information exchange services to local communities throughout
California. For more information about CalRHIO see www.calrhio.org.

About RAND: The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization
providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the
challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world.

About USC: Located in the heart of Los Angeles, the University of Southern
California is one of the world's leading private research universities.

CONTACT:

Daniel Danzig
CalRHIO
dan@danzigcom.com
925-216-8153

SOURCE CalRHIO

Daniel Danzig, CalRHIO, +1-925-216-8153, dan@danzigcom.com