National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo has pointed to Vermont's health information exchange as a model for other states struggling to include rural providers in HIEs, according to a report in the Battleboro Reformer.
Vermont has made bringing broadband connectivity to rural areas a priority, helping to foster the adoption and use of EHRs and online portals among providers in remote parts of the state, according to the report.
The Vermont Health Information Exchange currently connects almost all of the state's hospitals and community health centers, as well as two-thirds of primary care practices. The exchange is currently working on bringing more providers, including mental health specialists and long-term care organizations, into the exchange.
"This fall is really going to see nine years of work come to fruition, and the hopes and dreams of a statewide information system actually being available," said Paul Harrington, executive director of the Vermont Medical Society, in the report.
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