More than $4 million has been raised to begin construction of the not-for-profit HealthInfoNet network, placing Maine among the first states in the nation to build and operate a statewide electronic health information network.
The network is intended to help reduce medical errors and lead to more informed treatment decisions by allowing caregivers to access key clinical information. An estimated $50 million per year in healthcare costs is expected to be saved as caregivers order fewer unnecessary and duplicative tests, procedures, prescriptions, and hospital admissions.
The pilot program will begin this winter, more than 2,000 healthcare providers, including 15 rural and urban hospitals across the state, joining with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in a 24-month demonstration of the network. Following the demonstration phase, plans call for HealthInfoNet to be expanded to include other providers who care for Maine’s 1.3 million residents. Read the press release.
