Business
California joins RHIO movement
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 9, 2005
Several California health care organizations joined forces in April to launch a regional health information organization that will enable physicians and hospitals to connect electronically and share health care data with each other.
Sutter Health, Kaiser Permanente and the WellPoint Foundation have each given $1 million grants to help fund a statewide network called CalRHIO. The University of California also has made a $100,000 grant, and other financial contributors include Lumetra, a San Francisco nonprofit quality improvement organization; John Muir/Mt. Diablo Health System, Walnut Creek, Calif.; and Cedars-Sinai Health System, Los Angeles.
The Health Technology Center, a San Francisco nonprofit research and education organization, is managing CalRHIO. RHIOs are a major component of President Bush's plan to implement a national health information network and electronic medical records for all Americans within 10 years. The Dept. of Health and Human Services has estimated that there are more than 100 efforts nationwide to develop RHIOs.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/05/09/bibf0509.htm.