Dive Brief:
- Great Lakes Health Connect (GLHC), Michigan's health information exchange, is providing $250,000 to coordinate healthcare among Genesee County providers and will partner with the Greater Flint Health Coalition.
- An estimated 420,000 Flint residents have been exposed to lead-contaminated water, including up to 12,000 children, who will need ongoing care.
- GLHC said the data exchange between providers will enhance care and the partnership with the Greater Flint Health Coalition will provide better care response for lead exposure tracking. The goal is to connect all Genesee County healthcare providers to GLHC's statewide health information exchange network.
Dive Insight:
The $250,000 will be applied to the following: $100,000 to create the Community Interface Grant to cover expenses of an infrastructure to connect 40 physician offices across the county; $90,000 for an implementation consultant to coordinate the program; $50,000 for analytics software for enhanced communications and data analysis and $10,000 for a training grant for all of those involved with the program.
"This integrated network of providers holds the potential for establishing the greater Flint region as the benchmark model for a care-connected community in the U.S. - a virtual environment where information can be shared quickly among healthcare providers, leading to more effective, efficient healthcare services," said Tom Bres, chairman of the GLHC board, in a statement.