Hawai‘i Island Beacon Community

10/01/2013

We want to thank each and every one of you for your support as we endeavored to transform health care on Hawaii Island. It has been a remarkable journey with many milestones that have resulted in better care, the potential for cost savings, and, most importantly, better health for those in our community. Click the link to see an infographic that illustrates those milestones.

Our project wrapped up today with the conclusion of the federal Beacon Community Program, but the work has just begun. We know that our providers will continue to make breakthroughs in health IT and that our state is closer than ever to the reality of a statewide health information exchange.

Imua!

09/20/2013

Happy Friday to everyone ending Health IT Week on a high note! We're sharing a special update on Health Information Exchange and a shoutout to our partners at the Hawaii Health Information Exchange for the recent milestones they've achieved. Imua!

09/20/2013

Exciting coverage in Healthcare IT News today about the outcomes from our care coordination pilot involving iHealthHome. Conclusion: care coordination works!

09/18/2013

The HIMSS Health IT Value Suite organizes and creates a common vocabulary to identify, classify and discuss the many known examples of health IT value

09/16/2013

We're celebrating National Health IT Week with HIMSS by highlighting our local providers accomplishments in !

Health IT supports a winning team towards improvements in care, health and cost. We're so proud of our community for making the commitment to transform health care through technology.

How are you using Health IT to improve the care you provide?

09/05/2013

The good news keeps coming this week: Hawaii just launched its Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. Eligible professionals can receive up to $63,750 over six years and eligible hospitals can receive more than $5 million over four years for setting up and using certified EHRs.

The State of Hawaii Department of Human Services (DHS) Med-QUEST Division (MQD) has launched the Hawaii Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. Through this program, eligible professionals and eligible hospitals can receive incentive payments to adopt, implement, upgrade, or mean...

09/05/2013

The first hospitals have joined the state health information exchange!

The Hawaii Health Information Exchange announced this week that Hawaii Pacific Health (including Kapi`olani Medical Center for Women & Children, Pali Momi Medical Center, and Straub Clinic & Hospital on O‘ahu and Wilcox Health on Kaua‘i) and Castle Medical Center on O‘ahu became the first hospitals to sign on to Health eNet and have agreed to share patient clinical records. This marks a significant step in improving care and managing costs for all patients statewide!

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Pacific Business News report that Hilo Medical Center will be the first public hospital to join.

Castle Medical Center and Hawaii Pacific Health have signed agreements to share patient clinical records through Health eNet, the Hawaii Health Information Exchange's secure electronic medical record system.

07/09/2013

Our Project Director/CEO Susan Hunt and Clinical Program Manager Melinda Nugent were interviewed for this West Hawaii Today article about changes in health care. Technology is playing a key role in improving chronic disease management.

07/09/2013

Mahalo, Hawaii Primary Care Association!

07/03/2013

Thank you to the University of Hawaii and University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo for their support. The innovation and leadership of UH students and the College of Pharmacy is making health care better for our community.

HIBC, a collaborative project administered through UH Hilo, continues its mission to improve the quality of patient care in Hawaiȶi County.

06/28/2013

"According to HIBC’s database, 84 percent of primary care providers have adopted certified electronic health records (EHR) in Hawai‘i County. Use of certified EHRs qualify primary care providers on the island for financial incentives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid through achievement of the first stage of Meaningful Use of their EHR software."

84 Percent of Primary Care Physicians Now Using Certified Electronic Health Records Three years after entering into a $16.1 million cooperative agreement with the Office of the National Coordinator...

06/15/2013

Mahalo to all that participated in our Patient-Centered Medical Neighborhood (PCMN) Learning Collaborative! We're inspired by the spirit of collaboration and connection between providers. Special mahalo to Kaheleaulani Native Hawaiian Health, a medical behavioral health program out of North Hawaii Community Hospital for their presence and collaboration. We've posted a toolkit on our website to help providers maximize the PCMN model:

Hawaii Island Beacon Community (HIBC) is a federally funded collaborative project administered through the College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Through collaboration with health care professionals, hospitals, community organizations and residents, HIBC aims to eliminate barriers…