Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc (VITL) has announced that Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend is the latest hospital to connect to the state’ s health information network. By connecting to the network, Grace Cottage Hospital can now securely share clinical information electronically with other treating health care providers, with the goal of improving the quality of care delivery, and enhancing patient safety and outcomes.
‘ To be the standard for patient care is Grace Cottage Hospital’ s vision, and our collaboration with VITL has given us the ability and tools necessary to work towards achieving this vision,’ said Tony Marques, director of information technology and services at Grace Cottage Hospital. ‘ Health care providers agree that having the right information at the right time in the right place is a key component in their ability to provide quality patient-centered medical care. A Grace Cottage patient can be assured that once they give consent, information from their Grace Cottage health record will be available to providers treating them in other health care organizations, allowing the team to make the best possible health care decisions for that patient.’
Managed by VITL, the statewide health information network fulfills a critical component of Vermont’ s health care reform efforts to build and maintain electronic health information systems. Through VITL, physicians whose patients had recently been discharged from or had a test completed at Grace Cottage will receive data about that care directly into their electronic health records systems. This ensures the data is always available for providers to use, and can help improve the quality of care, as providers will have faster access to more complete information.
With the addition of Grace Cottage Hospital, almost all Vermont hospitals are now participating in the Vermont health information network. Work is underway to connect the remaining hospitals.
‘ Connecting hospitals is critically important to the expansion of the health information network as these providers generate large amounts of patient data that physician practices and others can utilize when delivering patient care,’ said John K. Evans, president and CEO of VITL. ‘ By connecting to VITL, physicians can save valuable time by having important information readily available at the point of care.’
About VITL: Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) is a non-profit organization that assists Vermont health care providers statewide with adopting and using health information technology to improve the quality of care delivery as well as to enhance patient safety and outcomes. Comprised of a collaborative group of stakeholders including health plans, hospitals, physicians, other health care providers, state government, employers, and consumers, VITL is the designated health information exchange (HIE) for the state of Vermont and also the state’ s federally-designated regional extension center. For more information, please visit www.vitl.net.