Topeka, KS – State health officials in Kansas are working on an electronic health records system, and they're likely going to get some federal help to do it. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has formed a group that will help plan how to set up a statewide health information exchange. KDHE spokesperson Kristi Pankratz says Kansans should see some changes that make health care a little simpler.
Pankratz: "Care coordination between healthcare providers, reduction in duplicate tests and immunizations, E-prescribing for prescriptions--those are just a couple of things the average citizen would see, but this would also tie everything together for the healthcare providers as well, too."
KDHE is expecting around 9 million dollars in federal grants to help pay for the system. The federal government is making the money available with the goal of allowing every American to have electronic health records. The system is still in the planning stages, with a launch slated for 2011.