The Alabama Medicaid Agency is creating an electronic health information network that will connect Medicaid physicians, providers, state health agencies and private payers throughout the state, the Enterprise Ledger reports.
"This network will provide doctors with real-time access to individual health information like immunization records, prescription data and lab results. It will reduce the potential for medical errors ... and increase efficiency and decrease costs," Alabama Gov. Bob Riley (R) said.
The Medicaid agency is building the network with a two-year, $7.6 million federal grant that the state received in January, according to Riley.
The agency is evaluating proposals from seven vendors to develop and test a clinical support tool that will grant providers with secure access to individuals' health information, claims, immunization records, prescription data and lab results, the Ledger reports.
Riley on Tuesday visited Jackson Hospital in Montgomery, Ala., to see how physicians and hospitals use IT (Enterprise Ledger, 8/16).