MDNews - Central New York

+++++++++++++++++++ + + +++++++++++++++++++ TECHNOLOGY  +++ +++ David W. Wormuth M.D., M.P.H., FACS F Q Jeffrey Cring, Director of Information Technology, Crouse Hospital OR THIS INTERVIEW, we sat down with Jeffrey Cring, Director of Information Technology for Crouse Hospital, and David Wormuth, M.D., Medical Director of Clinical Implementation of the American Recovery Reinvestment Act for Crouse Hospital. Both share their insights and perspectives on HealtheConnections, the regional health information organization (RHIO) of Central New York. Would you give me an overview of Crouse Hospital’s philosophy on technology? Cring: The value and importance of technology is increasing rapidly. Whether it’s radiology and cardiac digital imaging equipment or Hospital Technology and Connectivity portals to securely access patients’ clinical data, Crouse Hospital values the effi ciencies technology provides to help our physicians and staff do what they do best — provide the best in care for our patients. Q What additional technology investment has been necessary for Crouse Hospital to plug into the HealtheConnections network? Cring: Basically, none. We already had the necessary infrastructure in place and have been securely sharing data with off-site locations, so this was really just one more destination to securely share data with. The setup was very simple, and the HealtheConnections team was, and still is, extremely helpful and easy to work with. Q Dr. Wormuth, could you charac- terize the tone or enthusiasm for increased information exchange within the physician community? Dr. Wormuth: Honestly, I do not think there is much awareness of it, yet. Certainly from my position here, I am aware of what is going on, but RHIO access has not been turned on, so I do not believe most physicians know fully what will be available and how easy it will be to access. As physicians, we have a constant struggle with ascertaining what has been done in a patient care history. ‘When was the procedure done? Why?’ So forth. So it has been necessary to make a phone call to fi nd out what went on. With the RHIO and the permission of 18 | Central New York MD NEWS  MDNEWS.COM

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