OK Beacon Community: Cloud-based HIE Improves Quality of Care and Pop Health, Contains Costs

Twice in the last four years, the Commonwealth Fund ranked Oklahoma's healthcare system among the worst in the nation in terms of access, propensity to lead healthy lives, prevention and treatment, equity and avoidable costs for both adult and children patient populations. Additionally, researchers at the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine demonstrated that the Sooner State was the only one in the country experiencing a worsening age-adjusted death rate. Probable culprits for these dismal rankings include a fragmented health system, a chronic and extreme shortage of primary care physicians and the lack of a community-wide focus on improving clinical outcomes.

These sobering findings led the mayor of Tulsa, encouraged by a group of healthcare leaders and local philanthropists, to convene a meeting in June 2009. Seventy-five executives from regional hospitals, insurers, safety-net clinics, emergency transport services, medical schools, employers and other healthcare stakeholders attended. After reviewing the evidence, the participants decided to tackle the challenge head on. Over the next three months, they invested thousands of hours crafting a strategic plan for our community to improve care quality and access via a regional health information network (HIN) that is now called MyHealth Access Network (MyHealth)...