El Dorado County Safety Net Technology Project

The purpose of the El Dorado County Safety Net Technology Project was to develop an infrastructure enabling El Dorado County to coordinate patient care among multiple providers, improve information flow among providers, and support research data and provide outcome analysis. Health information technology (health IT) will improve both the tangible processes for patients and distribution of information for providers and patients. Project planning focused on the need to implement a means to share clinical data between the providers of medical care and ancillary services. As a result of the information collected, the planning process was structured around a small focused set of applications and health IT services to be provided. The following activities were undertaken in order to gain an understanding and appreciation for the requirements of El Dorado County: interviews with selected providers, hospital staff, and county organizations; inventory of current technology; and identification of provider support alternatives. As a result, the following goals were identified for the implementation of this planning effort: 1) Implement networked Care Connections Program to provide "medical home" and improved medical services to low income/minority, uninsured and/or publicly-insured residents; 2) Implement county-wide technology infrastructure that permits high speed connectivity and interoperability amongst the disparate data sources needed for patient care; 3) Implement system based upon Master Patient Index (MPI) containing shared demographics amongst providers. This MPI can be expanded to create basic EHR capabilities and clinical data sharing for providers of care to the un- and under-insured population; and 4) Implement a system of electronic prescription writing.