California Area OfficeJuly - 2014 RPMS Electronic Health Record
Margo Kerrigan, M.P.H, Area Director
Indian Health Service California Area Office
As technology pushes society forward, we are aware of its impact on almost every aspect of our lives. Healthcare is no exception. In Indian Country we benefit from advances in Health Information Technology (HIT), whether through advanced tools such as retinal cameras or advances in the network technologies that support telemedicine, allowing the images captured by those retinal cameras to be delivered anywhere in the world almost instantaneously.
The Indian Health Service, California Area Office (IHSCAO) doesn't float along in the slipstream of technology - the IHSCAO Information Technology (IT) team lead the way by applying knowledge and experience to determine the best technical solutions in support of health care for American Indians and Alaska natives. To this end, the IT team is currently working to facilitate the roll-out of the 2014 RPMS Electronic Health Record. This powerful set of tools will support the expectation that a modern medical records system can help to efficiently manage programs, maximize revenue generation, and provide high-quality care for patients; all in a secure communication and data transport environment.
Technologists and clinical application specialists at IHSCAO have constructed an environment in which beta software is installed and tested in advance of the product release, which is expected in August 2014. In the last week of June, our RPMS / EHR IT team conducted a "dry run" of the installation, making observations and taking notes. The next step is the creation of a concise installation document, followed by a series of timed installations. At that point, we will be ready to implement the 2014 Certified RPMS EHR at tribal and urban health programs throughout California.
To learn more about the 2014 RPMS EHR process, check out these web sites:
