Now a member of Stanly Regional’s medical staff is ready to share with the rest of the nation’s healthcare community how health information technology can help improve patient care. Dr. Joseph Hunter of Albemarle Medical Services, was recently one of 82 healthcare providers from across the country whose progress in health IT was recognized by the White House and Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, D.C.

The HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) recently hosted a Health IT Vanguard Conference in which a variety of health care professionals shared lessons learned in adopting and implementing electronic health records. As designated Beacon Community representatives, Hunter, Brad Marino,Vice President of Physician Network and Surgical Services at Stanly Regional Medical Center and others of the Meaningful Use Vanguard (MUVers) and health IT leaders discussed solutions for a variety of health IT barriers, including privacy and security and the challenges of building systems that can “talk to each other.” The group also discussed ways of using health IT to promote better health in communities. Health IT leaders throughout the country have been recognized for their leadership in local efforts that will eventually move the nation toward an electronically enabled health care system.

While in the nation’s capital, Hunter attended the White House Health IT Town Hall where senior White House and HHS officials discussed progress and barriers to a national Health IT system. In addition to discussing the meaningful use of EHRs, providers shared their insight on the important role that Health IT programs, such as the Beacon Community Program, have played in helping them implement EHRs and sup- port health care improvements through IT enabled interventions.

“The Southern Piedmont Beacon Community helped my practice better use health information technology to significantly enhance our quality of patient care,” said Hunter. “As one of 17 ONC-selected and funded communities, the Southern Piedmont Beacon Community has connected my practice with a hospital-based, transitional care nurse and has embedded a care manager and clinical pharmacist directly into my practice. Coupled with our health system’s electronic health record technology, we are now better able to coordinate patient care and ensure the right services are provided to the right patients at the right time to keep our patients healthy and out of the hospital. Our Beacon Community understands the importance of meaningful use as a foundation for health-IT enabled improvement. Meaningfully using our EHR essentially allows us to improve the coordination and delivery of care to our patients.”

To learn more about Al- bemarle Medical Services and Stanly Regional Medical Center’s efforts with the Beacon Community, call 704-982-9144.