HHS Secretary Visits KUMC to Discuss Health Records

Mar 26, 2008

Executive Vice Chancellor Dr. Barbara Atkinson, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, and KU Hospital CEO Bob Page at the event.

Mike Leavitt, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, recently visited the KU Medical Center campus to discuss the importance of electronic health records.

Secretary Leavitt met with Executive Vice Chancellor Dr. Barbara Atkinson and KU Hospital President and CEO Bob Page to discuss reforms, followed by a meeting with local stakeholders and a briefing for local media. The discussions focused on the “Four Cornerstones of Value-Driven Health Care,” an HHS effort to improve health care through standards in technology, quality, price, and incentives.

In her remarks at the event, Dr. Atkinson praised Secretary Leavitt for his willingness to merge ideas from the private and public sectors in pursuit of better patient care and better research.

“It is only by adopting the mindset of the Four Cornerstones – a forward-thinking, pragmatic, and honest assessment of our needs – that we will begin to address problems rather than effects,” she said. “Secretary Leavitt's visit serves as a reminder of the pioneering work of so many at the Medical Center and the Hospital.”

Part of the Four Cornerstones effort includes recruiting 12 demonstration sites across the country to serve as test centers for upgrades in health technology. In exchange for Medicare incentive payments, the 12 test sites will adopt certified electronic health record programs. Once operational, the project will join as many as 1,200 primary care practices in a collective record project. Such electronic records, Dr. Atkinson said, can provide a crucial streamlining of the patient care process.

“It is essential that we improve the sharing of records here in Kansas and across the entire nation,” she said. “Without the best and latest technology, health organizations can be crippled by slow or incorrect delivery of critical information, in some cases causing life-threatening situations.”

The visit from Secretary Leavitt underscores the important work being done at both the KU Medical Center and the KU Hospital in improving technology and promoting quality and efficiency of care. Both institutions are regional leaders in teaching with and implementing electronic health records. KU Hospital, for instance, recently launched its EHR system, dubbed O2 for “Optimal Outcomes.” Physicians and nurses alike have embraced the new system for its seamless delivery of information between stations.

Additionally, the KU School of Nursing has a longstanding partnership with Cerner Corporation to provide comprehensive training to nursing students utilizing the latest EHR technology and equipment. It is this training that allows nurses to quickly and easily adapt to such systems once in the field, as they will have already completed their training and education using similar technology.