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Wonderling Announces M-SAF Initiative to Promote Access
to Medical Information Technology
HARRISBURG -- More
health care providers could implement electronic health information systems to
improve health care quality, reduce medical errors and advance the delivery of
patient-centered care under legislation outlined by Sen. Rob Wonderling (R-24)
and Sen. Jake Corman (R-34) at a press conference Monday at the State Capitol.
Senate Bill 934 would create
the Medical Safety Automation Fund (M-SAF), which would provide matching grants
up to $1 million for health care providers to implement a medical safety
information system for patient health records. Wonderling said that while
electronic health systems would be a useful tool for clinical activities and
data sharing, protecting the privacy and security of health information would
remain a top priority.
"M-SAF allows our health
care providers to use the latest information technology to provide the best and
most accurate care possible," said Wonderling, who sponsored the bill. "This new
technology also gives patients more access and control over their own health
records, allowing the patient to be a more active partner in the care they
receive."
Corman said one of the most
important benefits of his legislation would be improved public health reporting
and coordination of care among health care providers during public health
threats, such as bioterror attacks and infectious disease outbreaks. The
upgrades in technology would also reduce health care costs resulting from
inefficiency and incomplete information.
"One goal of this
legislation is to interconnect all healthcare providers in the Commonwealth to
the benefit of all Pennsylvanians so that their medical information is available
whenever and wherever they need it, while at the same time protecting their
privacy," Corman said. "We live in a digital age and medical record keeping
needs to keep pace so that a person's medical records are available during any
unforeseen emergency or circumstance."
Wonderling and Corman were
joined at the Capitol press conference by Dr. James Walker, Chief Medical
Information Officer of Geisinger Health Systems; Dr. Stephen Matchett, Chief of
Critical Care Medicine at Lehigh Hospital; Roger Mecum, Executive Vice President
of the Pennsylvania Medical Society and James M. Redmond, Senior Vice
President, Legislative Services, The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of
Pennsylvania.
  Wonderling
Corman
Sen. Jake Corman, left, and Sen. Rob Wonderling,
right, speak
at an Oct. 17 news
conference in the Capitol Media Center to announce an initiative to
promote access to medical information
technology.
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