Dive Brief:
- Oklahoma City-based hospitals and their statewide affiliates will soon have a new web-based platform which will allow them to share patient medical records and smooth care transitions.
- The new network, which is based in Norman, OK, will compete with another network for the business of hospitals, doctors' offices, pharmacies and health care providers statewide,
- Fees for the new network range from $20 a month for single physician practice to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for large medical systems.
Dive Insight:
Most health care leaders would agree that connecting providers is a good thing, on the whole. But things could get nasty quickly if the two competing health information networks fight for each other's business. With any luck, the physicians who run each of the networks will find a way to cooperate. Since 2008, after all, the two have helped to build the state's connectivity to a remarkable 70% of health care providers. This stands in stark contrast to the national average, which is 20%.