Health information technology: an untapped resource to help keep patients insured.
The recent confluence of: (1) changing state and national insurance-related policies, and (2) the rapid growth in electronic health record (EHR) use, yields an unprecedented opportunity for patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) and other primary care practices or care settings to use health information technology (HIT) and health information exchange (HIE) in novel ways to impact patient health. We propose that HIT is an untapped resource for supporting clinic-based efforts to help eligible patients obtain and maintain insurance coverage. This commentary presents a conceptual model and guiding principles for this idea. Additionally, it describes insurance support tools that could be used to conduct 'inreach' and 'outreach' with patients around health insurance, similar to how HIT is used to manage chronic disease and panels of patients, and to improve population health outcomes.
Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon OCHIN, Inc., Portland, Oregon.
Jennifer E
JE
DeVoe
Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon angierh@ohsu.edu.
Heather
H
Angier
Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon OCHIN, Inc., Portland, Oregon.
Tim
T
Burdick
Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest.
Rachel
R
Gold
D004608:Eligibility Determination; D066275:Health Information Exchange; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008490:Medical Informatics; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000191:economics
electronic health records; health insurance; patient-centered medical home