Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Electronic Health Record Program Delivers Significantly Improved Healthcare Quality

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) today reissued results from a multi-year pilot program designed to increase the use of electronic health records (EHRs), transform the way healthcare is delivered and improve members’ health.  Results of the pilot, which ultimately became the foundation of BCBSRI’s patient-centered medical home model, demonstrate clear value in using health information technology to improve quality of care.  Highlights of the pilot include the following:

Improved healthcare quality measures, with a 44 percent median rate of improvement in family and children’s health, 35 percent in women’s care and 24 percent in internal medicine

Successful EHR implementations for 79 local physicians

“A recently published New England Journal of Medicine study showed that EHRs improve quality of care for patients with diabetes by reducing unnecessary testing, helping to prevent adverse events and improving patient care coordination as compared to practices that use paper-based methods,” said Dr. Gus Manocchia, senior vice president and chief medical officer at BCBSRI.  “We have believed for some time that using EHRs makes it easier for us to help members manage chronic conditions.  Unfortunately, a lot of local practices just don’t have the resources to implement these types of record systems, which is what prompted us to establish the pilot program.  We are grateful that so many local primary care physicians agreed to partner with us in this effort to improve the quality of care received by their patients.”