Amid a shift toward value-based care, some of Montana's largest healthcare systems and its biggest health insurer are teaming up to establish a pilot program to efficiently and securely share patient medical information, the Billings Gazette reports.
Helena-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana will lead the program with Billings, Mont.-based St. Vincent Healthcare, Billings Clinic and Billings-based RiverStone Health. The pilot program is based on current systems used for Oklahoma's health information exchange, MyHealth Access, which has 350 partners.
The program is set to develop an EMR system for patient and claims data and a way for providers to share that information. Population health data will also be gathered. With immediately accessible information, the program aims to assist with physician care and prevent unnecessary or incorrect treatment, according to the report.
Patients choose what information can be shared with providers. However, their information will be used anonymously in population health data. Security and storage technology will be implemented to keep data safe.
The pilot program is expected to begin this fall.
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