RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Health Information Technology: An Untapped Resource to Help Keep Patients Insured
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP 568
OP 572
DO 10.1370/afm.1721
VO 12
IS 6
A1 DeVoe, Jennifer E.
A1 Angier, Heather
A1 Burdick, Tim
A1 Gold, Rachel
YR 2014
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/12/6/568.abstract
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.