Minnesota E-Health Summit to Highlight Developments in Health IT

The third annual Minnesota e-Health Summit will focus on the future of electronic health information in light of a new Minnesota law that requires all hospitals and health care providers to have an interoperable electronic health records system in place by 2015. The summit will be held on June 28.

"Minnesota investments in health information technology are helping to improve patient safety, increase the quality of health care, reduce costs, protect the confidentiality of health data, and strengthen and advance public health," said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dianne Mandernach. "However, challenges remain in achieving statewide adoption and use of interconnected electronic health records and related technology. The summit provides a forum to learn from progress made in Minnesota and discuss how to accelerate progress for the future."

"The summit will showcase national and Minnesota e-Health initiatives and how each is working to empower consumers, inform and connect clinicians, and protect our communities," said Mary Wellik, director of Olmsted County Public Health and co-chair of the e-Health Advisory Committee.

Featured speakers and topics include:

• Joy Pritts, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, will talk about patient consent and the electronic exchange of health information.
• Mark Leavitt, chair of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, will share reasons why certification and standards are important in health information technology.
• Shaun Grannis, a medical informatics researcher from the Regenstrief Institute in Indiana and the Indiana University School of Medicine, will provide real examples of the benefits of health information exchange.

"We can be proud of the success we have had in using technology to share patient information among Minnesota health care providers, but we still have more work to do," said Mary Brainerd, president and CEO of HealthPartners, and co-chair of the Minnesota e-Health Advisory Committee. "This forum gives us an opportunity to come together to discuss how we can build on our collaborative efforts to improve safety and quality of care."

The annual Minnesota e-Health Summit is a joint venture of the Minnesota e-Health Initiative Advisory Committee, the Minnesota Department of Health and Stratis Health. Past summits have attracted more than 400 people interested in health information technology and health information exchange.