AHRQ National Web Conference on the Use of Health IT

A National Web Conference on the Use of Health IT in Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs) To Improve Patient Care

When: August 6, 2013 – 2:30pm to 4:00pm
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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has identified a gap in health care and public health practitioners’ knowledge of health information technology (IT) using multiple mechanisms, including the findings of the continuing education (CE) planning group. This series of Webinars is designed to increase practitioners’ ability to improve health care decisionmaking, support patient-centered care, and improve the quality and safety of care through the use of health IT. Primary care practice-based research networks (PBRNs) involve practicing clinicians in asking and answering clinical and organizational questions central to primary health care. Increasingly, health IT and health information exchange (HIE) play a key role in supporting the research carried out by these PBRNs, thus providing research findings relevant to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service’s (CMS) financial incentives of for the “meaningful use” of certified electronic health records (EHRs). This session will highlight findings of three PBRN projects: a) the development of health IT evidence-based tools to improve health care decisionmaking related to HPV vaccinations and early successes in translation to new environments and systems; b) an overview of the Regional Health eDecisions Guidebook outlining the feasibility and process for connecting EHRs to receive HIE-based decision support through the Preventive Services Reminder System (PSRS); and c) research to identify an after-visit summary that is both useful to the patient and can be transmitted electronically to other providers involved in that patient’s care.

Regional Health eDecisions: A Guide to Connecting Health Information Exchange in Primary Care – This document was prepared for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), HHS, and prepared by the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Norman Physician Hospital Organization, Norman, Oklahoma. This document will help primary care practices connect to regional health information exchanges. It lays out a blueprint to help a practice connect its EHR to a Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO), offers tips to engage staff buy-in, addresses technical issues, and helps to make sure that data acquired from information exchange can be accessed by clinicians as part of their regular workflows.

Get more information on AHRQ’s past and upcoming health IT-related events sponsored by AHRQ and the AHRQ National Resource Center for Health IT as well as events sponsored by our partners.