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Winter 2009
ConnectedC o n n e ct e d T e n n e s s e e Q u a r t e r l y
Tennessee Delivers
Country’s First
Statewide eHealth
Network
Telemedicine Keeps
Tennessee’s Jails
Safer and Healthier
A Very Special
Delivery Keeps
Expectant Moms
Connected
3. connected tennessee quarterly 3
Tennessee Delivers Country’s First
Statewide eHealth Network
Healthcare and technology go hand-in-hand in Tennessee, a point well-illustrated by the fact that
the State of Tennessee is the first in the nation to formulate a statewide health information exchange.
The Tennessee eHealth Network is designed to transform how health information is accessed and
delivered by the Tennessee care-giving community and ultimately to enable increased patient safety,
reduced spending and improved quality of care for the state’s 6 million residents.
The network is powered by AT&T and features a secure online collaboration center – a Virtual Private
Network (VPN)-based portal – designed to safely and securely enable such applications as:
• Prescribing pharmaceuticals online (also known as “ePrescribing”)
• Securing clinical messaging among the state’s healthcare providers
• Sharing high-density images, including X-rays, MRIs and CT scans
• Exchanging patient information via portable health records, which provides patient profiles,
medical history, prescriptions, etc.
• Delivering telemedicine applications for remote diagnostics and care
• Accessing Tennessee Department of Health applications,
including the immunization registry, disease registries, death
certificate applications and processing and medical license
renewal
• Accessing other healthcare applications and systems, including
laboratory systems
“Tennessee is proud to be the first to expand its current state
network and offer a private, affordable, statewide secure network for
exchanging critical healthcare information among providers,” says
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. “Our goal is to accurately and
effectively deliver information to healthcare providers at the point of
care, which will improve the quality of healthcare provided to the
citizens of Tennessee. If a patient’s medical history and record of
“Tennessee is proud to
be the first to expand its
current state network
and offer a private,
affordable, statewide
secure network for
exchanging critical
healthcare information
among providers.”
Governor Phil Bredesencontinues on page 4
4. 4 www.connectedtn.org
connected H winter 2009
care are available to the hospital,
laboratory, pharmacy or physician,
then they will ultimately receive better
and more cost-effective medical care.”
The network helps protect health
information by providing dual-factor
authentication of healthcare providers
using the VPN-based portal, which
supports HIPAA privacy requirements.
It also centralizes, automates and
streamlines the access to information
across healthcare communities
statewide by giving physicians the ability to use many health-
information applications with a single sign-on.
The Tennessee eHealth Network also features two patented
solutions from AT&T, including establishing a:
• Network-based healthcare information system to enable the
secure exchange of electronic healthcare data among legacy
systems of healthcare providers
• Virtual physician office system to enable the secure use
of network-based healthcare information systems and
applications
“The eHealth Network offers anytime, anywhere delivery of care
and information to patients, healthcare communities and the State
of Tennessee,” says Gregg Morton, President, AT&T Tennessee.
“We’re committed to leveraging technology that will transform the
delivery of healthcare, enhance operational efficiencies, provide
innovative solutions and, ultimately, improve the quality of life.”
The Tennessee eHealth Network provides secure broadband
connectivity via a VPN available in all 95 counties in Tennessee. It
is being deployed in conjunction with the efforts of the Governor’s
eHealth Council as well as the state’s health information exchanges,
including the MidSouth eHealth Alliance in Memphis, CareSpark
in upper eastern Tennessee, Innovation Valley Health Information
Network in Knoxville and the statewide Shared Health network.
“We are closer than ever to Governor Bredesen’s and the eHealth
Council’s goal of having a secure broadband infrastructure along
with the necessary tools and applications to use health information
technology at the point of care,” explains Antoine Agassi, Chair of
the Governor’s eHealth Council. “As a direct result, we will improve
the quality of care available in Tennessee.” J
Related links:
www.tennesseeanytime.org/ehealth
An innovative telemedicine initiative that has its roots in East
Tennessee is keeping Tennessee’s jails – and streets – safer, via
broadband technology.
Detention Healthcare Associates, Inc. (DHCA) got its start four
years ago in Gainesboro, Tennessee and today services 13
detention facilities throughout Tennessee as well as jails in North
Carolina and Georgia. The system can connect doctors, nurses
and office staff to prisoners through videoconferencing, keeping
the inmates in jail as much as possible while eliminating the
potential security risks and cost of physically transporting the
patient.
DHCA provides medical services, as well as mental health and
dental evaluations, all via a broadband connection. DHCA
President and CEO Rich Ellis says telemedicine truly is the future
of healthcare.
“We see the value of being able to have instant communication
with physicians,” Rich explains. “We’re constantly looking at new
ways to expand. This level of technology is just so exciting! The
technology is here now. Doctors are listening to sounds from
hundreds of miles away. The capabilities of this technology are
just so huge!”
Rich says the jails love the telemedicine system and use it on a daily
basis. And with business in Johnson City, Knoxville, Kingsport and
many other East Tennessee communities, as well as expansion
into Kentucky, North Carolina and Georgia, he feels confident the
need for broadband is going to continue to grow.
“People want to have healthcare closer to home, or even in the
home, and the only way we are going to be able to do that is
through broadband. It’s going to be an awakening,” he predicts.
“It’s slow – but it’s coming.” J
Related links:
www.dhcaonline.com
Tennessee Delivers Country’s First Statewide eHealth Network
continued from page 3
Broadband Serves the Medical Needs of Inmates Without
the Risk of Transport
5. connected tennessee quarterly 5
Governor Phil Bredesen recently
announced an important step in the state’s
electronic health information strategy as
he launched ePrescribe Tennessee, a
collaboration of healthcare leaders who
will work to accelerate the use of electronic
prescribing (ePrescribing) in Tennessee.
“We are on the threshold of making
ePrescribing the primary way providers
and consumers fill and refill prescriptions
in Tennessee,” Bredesen said. “As
a collaborative of major healthcare
stakeholders, ePrescribe Tennessee is
our way forward in using ePrescribing
to improve health outcomes, reduce
healthcare costs and enhance healthcare
efficiency.”
ePrescribing is the use of secure healthcare
information technology when filling and re-
filling prescriptions to improve accuracy,
increase patient safety and reduce costs.
The mission of ePrescribe Tennessee will be
to coordinate and encourage ePrescribing
adoption among healthcare providers,
pharmacies and consumers. Specifically,
ePrescribe Tennessee will:
• Work with healthcare providers and
pharmacies to help them incorporate
ePrescribing into their daily workflow
• EstablishrequirementsforePrescribing
standards and capability
• Educate Tennessee’s healthcare
community about ePrescribing best
practices
• Create outreach and education
programs for consumers about the
benefits of ePrescribing
• Evaluate recommendations to remove
barriers to ePrescribing adoption in
the state
The organization will consist of a steering
committee, advisory committee and
specific working groups made up of
stakeholder volunteers who will govern the
organization’s operation.
Healthcare organizations participating in
the ePrescribe Tennessee Stakeholder
Summit included representatives of
statewide practitioner groups, major health
plans, the Tennessee General Assembly,
state-level health initiatives and the
Tennessee eHealth Advisory Council.
“Tennessee has made early wins in
ePrescribing,” Bredesen said. “Fortunately
for Tennessee, we have a strategy in
ePrescribe Tennessee to proceed with
confidence and increase our ePrescribing
momentum.”
Tennessee healthcare providers issued 1.5
million electronic prescriptions in 2008, a
160 percent increase over 2007.
In fact, 3 percent of all prescriptions
written in Tennessee in 2008 were issued
electronically, compared with 1.1 percent
in 2007.
Additionally, the number of Tennessee’s
active electronic prescribers in 2008 grew
127 percent to 1,792, compared to 782 in
2007 and 211 in 2006.
Tennessee’s Office of eHealth Initiatives
paved the way for the launch of ePrescribe
Tennessee after requiring recipients of the
office’s physician connectivity grants to
ePrescribe for two years.
“In organizing Tennessee’s overall
ePrescribing strategy, and ePrescribe
Tennessee in particular, we looked at
ePrescribe Florida,” said Finance and
Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz.
“Until ePrescribe Tennessee launched,
ePrescribe Florida had been the only
coordinating body in the nation dedicated
primarily to bringing major healthcare
stakeholders together to increase adoption
of ePrescribing at a statewide level.”
Representatives from the Office of eHealth
Initiatives will serve in an advisory capacity
on ePrescribe Tennessee’s committees
and work groups. The Office of eHealth
Initiatives has also planned a total of 16
electronic prescribing training sessions for
2009 to be held across the state.
For more information on ePrescribe
Tennessee and to find out dates and
locations for ePrescribing training sessions,
visit www.eprescribetennessee.com. J
Related links:
www.eprescribetennessee.com
Electronic Prescribing Gains Lead Bredesen’s
Call-to-Action With Healthcare Stakeholders at
ePrescribe Tennessee Launch
Governor Bredesen addresses the ePrescribe
Tennessee Stakeholder Summit
6. 6 www.connectedtn.org
connected H winter 2009
Broadband Technology Puts Vital Healthcare Information
at the Fingertips of Millions of Tennesseans
Thanks to broadband technology,
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
is now able to provide physician-
specific information on clinical quality
and healthcare costs to nearly 2 million
Tennesseans at www.bcbst.com.
The BlueCross Physician Quality and
Cost Transparency program responds to
increasing consumer demand for more
information about the quality of healthcare
and cost as an increasing number of
Tennesseans embrace popular health
insurance benefit plans such as Health
Savings Accounts, Health Reimbursement
Arrangements and Flexible Spending
Accounts.
A recent study in the U.S. News and
World Report indicated that 82 percent of
Americans are dissatisfied with the U.S.
health system and 90 percent said that they
supported efforts to improve healthcare
quality, cost and access.
“Our members and employer groups
have been very specific in their requests
for physician-specific cost and clinical
quality information,” says Linda Andreae,
Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing
Officer for BlueCross. “We’ve made this
tool a priority as we enhance our already
industry-leading consumer health tools
available at bcbst.com.”
The online tool will include information on
how much individuals can expect to pay for
treatment of certain illnesses and physician
quality ratings based on whether patients
received the treatments or tests required
for certain conditions.
BlueCross has worked closely with the
physician community to create a claims-
based tool that reflects the practice
standards of physicians across the state
in regard to Healthcare Effectiveness Data
and Information Set (HEDIS)-based quality
measures. BlueCross also established a
Physician Advisory Panel, consisting of
doctors from across the State of Tennessee,
to consult with and advise about all aspects
of the quality and cost program during its
development. Several consumer focus
groups were also held to be certain the
information was relevant to Tennesseans.
The program uses eight different quality
measures based on nationally recognized
guidelines for effective care, with guidelines
endorsed by the National Committee for
Quality Assurance (NCQA) and other
independent national organizations. The
tool also includes Board Certification
information for specific physicians and
median costs per episode for specific
conditions. The NCQA is a private, not-for-
profit organization dedicated to improving
healthcare quality.
The Physician Quality and Cost tool joins
BlueCross’s other online consumer tools,
such as the hospital quality comparison
tool, the dental cost estimator tool and
the treatment cost estimator, among many
others that are available to BlueCross
members on bcbst.com. J
Related links:
www.bcbst.com
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis is making
the road to recovery from cancer a little less scary for its special
little patients, thanks to the World Wide Web. Cure4Kids (www.
cure4kids.org) is the leading education and collaboration website
dedicated to supporting the care of children with cancer and
other catastrophic diseases worldwide. Cure4Kids provides not
only high quality content for continuing education but also web
communication tools to support collaborations among pediatric
oncologists and health professionals worldwide. All content and
services are provided at no cost to the users.
The Cure4Kids program now has more than 10,000 users from 155
countries. Begun as a part of the International Outreach Program,
the Cure4Kids website brings the latest medical knowledge to
healthcare providers in countries with limited resources. The site
offers a digital library, on-demand seminars with slides and audio
in several languages and other resources. Established in 2002, the
website has been accessed more than 1 million times. J
Related links:
www.cure4kids.org
Cure4Kids: An International Medical Education Website
and Online Collaboration Center
7. connected tennessee quarterly 7
A Very Special Delivery Helps Expectant
Moms Facing High-Risk Pregnancies
Stay Connected
“I would like to express
deep appreciation to
the Foundation Board
for bringing a little
sunshine into the long
days spent on bed rest
by our patients with
high-risk pregnancies.”
Janet McIntosh,
MTMC Director of Maternal
Child Services
Moms-to-be who are confined to bed rest at
Middle Tennessee Medical Center (MTMC) in
Murfreesboro are now able to pass the time in
cyberspace, thanks to a very special donation
from the Middle Tennessee Medical Center
Foundation. In an effort to help alleviate the
restlessness and boredom often associated
with being unable to leave the hospital bed,
the Foundation recently donated three laptops
to the MTMC Labor and Delivery department
for use by pregnant patients confined to bed.
“Women with high-risk pregnancies are
frequently forced to stay on bed rest for
weeks at a time,” says Janet McIntosh, MTMC
Director of Maternal Child Services. “Cabin
fever, boredom and depression can set in very
quickly for these patients. Not only are the
women stressed and fearful over the outcome
of their pregnancy, but they also feel isolated
from their friends and family.”
MTMC’s OB/GYN physicians developed the
idea to donate laptops to occupy the minds
of the patients. Patients are now able to stay
in touch with friends and family, research
their medical conditions and connect with
online support groups. Having laptops is even
allowing the soon-to-be mothers to shop online
from their beds.
“On behalf of all the moms and babies who
will greatly benefit from the Foundation’s most
generous gift, I would like to express deep
appreciation to Nick Perlick, Joyce Taylor
and the Foundation Board for bringing a little
sunshine into the long days spent on bed rest
by our patients with high-risk pregnancies,”
says McIntosh.
The MTMC Foundation works to raise funds and
award grants that improve patient care. The
Foundation promotes community awareness
of the quality and value of medical services
provided by MTMC and raises and manages
philanthropic gifts to further the hospital`s
healing ministry. J
Related links:
www.mtmc.org
8. PRESORT STD
U S Postage
PAID
Nashville, tn
37219
Permit No. 473
618 Church Street, Suite 305
Nashville, TN 37219
By the Numbers Tennessee Healthcare and Technology
74% Healthcare companies with a computer at their business
52% Healthcare companies with the Internet at their business
44% Healthcare companies with broadband at their business
75% Tennesseans who use the Internet to access healthcare or medical information
39% Tennesseans who use the Internet to interact with healthcare insurance companies
31% Tennesseans who use the Internet to contact doctors or healthcare professionals
4.3 Mbps The average broadband download speed for the healthcare sector
30% Healthcare businesses in Tennessee with a website
10% Tennessee’s healthcare companies allow their employees to telework
55% Tennessee’s healthcare businesses who agree that the Internet has improved their business
