Communications of electronic medical records begin Wednesday between the first two partners in a local health care collaborative for the uninsured. J.C. Lewis Primary Healthcare Center, for sale a Union Mission program, more and Memorial University Medical Center’s emergency department will launch the Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council’s Health Information Exchange Pilot Project, said Dr. Paula Reynolds, council executive director.
The program will debut at the Fahm Street care center. “It’s a big step for Chatham County and the first health information exchange in the state of Georgia,” Reynolds said. The two partners will share medical records for uninsured and under-insured patients with care providers to increase efficiency and promote access to care, Reynolds said.
The records exchange program ensures patient privacy while enhancing the ability of care providers to share information for the patient’s benefit. J.C. Lewis and Memorial are among the seven health care providers in the safety net collaborative. “Once the information exchange matures, it will not matter where in Chatham County a patient goes for services, because the system will store complete records for each patient,” Reynolds said.