“Open Solutions” to Enhanced Quality of Care

Objective:To convey progress of a national consortium of Diabetes Prevention and Control (DPCP) programs, academic organizations and public/private practices focusing on the utilization of clinical information systems (CIS) in a way which enhances collaboration and avoids duplication of effort.

Methods:Diabetes Prevention and Control (DPCP) programs and partners are at the forefront of public health efforts in using CIS to enhance quality of patient care. A nationwide group of CIS stakeholders was formed in July, 2007 by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health DPCP and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment DPCP; membership has grown to nearly 100 individuals across 23 states. The initial purpose of the group was to initiate national discussion on the use of electronic patient registries for quality improvement. Focus has evolved in part to building interoperability between electronic patient registries and electronic health records (EHRs) for enhanced quality of care and meaningful data use.

Results:This national group is developing a building-block approach to a collaborative, open solution for integrating electronic patient registries and EHRs.

Conclusion:The collaboration among this national group serves as an example of how a functional level of electronic patient record / EHR interoperability can be achieved and shared.