PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - DeVoe, Jennifer E.
AU  - Angier, Heather
AU  - Burdick, Tim
AU  - Gold, Rachel
TI  - Health Information Technology: An Untapped Resource to Help Keep Patients Insured
AID  - 10.1370/afm.1721
DP  - 2014 Nov 01
TA  - The Annals of Family Medicine
PG  - 568--572
VI  - 12
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.annfammed.org/content/12/6/568.short
4100  - http://www.annfammed.org/content/12/6/568.full
SO  - Ann Fam Med2014 Nov 01; 12
AB  - 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.