BANGOR – Maine health care providers unveiled a new information-sharing system on Wednesday that will eventually give doctors instant access to patients’ medical histories no matter where they are located around the state.

More than $4 million has been raised so far to fund development of an online network that proponents predict will dramatically improve health care in Maine. The system could be of particular benefit to uninsured and underserved individuals who receive sporadic and scattered care, officials said.

HealthInfoNet, or HIN, will allow doctors to call up a complete medical history report for patients that display recent diagnoses, lab test results and prescribed medications even when the work was done by physicians hundreds of miles away in Maine.

The result, according to HIN’s architects, will be faster and higher-quality treatment, less duplication in terms of treatments and prescriptions as well as fewer medical errors. The program is also expected to save patients, health care providers and government programs in Maine up to $50 million annually.

“This program will be big and it will be far-reaching, touching the lives of more than half of Maine’s population,” said Dr. David Howes, vice chairman of HIN and chief medical officer at Martin’s Point Health Care in Portland.

Howes and more than a dozen others from around the state are preparing to kick off a 24-month demonstration phase of the project that will involve more than 2,000 health care providers from around the state.

HIN planners say the network should be available to doctors in participating practices in about a year. Patients will have the option of opting out of the program.

Maine’s four largest health systems – Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, MaineGeneral Medical Centers, Central Maine Health Care and MaineHealth – along with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention will all participate in the program. Fifteen rural and urban hospitals have also signed on to the program.

While other states are working on similar projects, HIN would be the nation’s first statewide electronic health information system.

“Until we have a system of universal access to care in the U.S., … at least providing a virtual system of care through HealthInfoNet is the next best thing,” said Dr. Wendy Wolf, president and CEO of the Maine Health Access Foundation, the state’s largest, independent health care foundation. The foundation is one of the largest donors to the HIN effort.

As with any database of personal information available online, HIN will have to address real security concerns about hackers and identity theft. HIN has contracted with 3M Health Information Systems, a subsidiary of 3M Co., and Orion Health to build the system and ensure its security.

The database of information will be housed at two separate, secure facilities located in St. Louis. All information will be password-protected, and patients will eventually have the option of prohibiting access to certain information.

Patients will also eventually be able to log onto the site to track who has been checking their records and why, HIN officials said Wednesday.

In addition to accessing a patient’s recent medical information, physicians will also be able to see which medications have been prescribed, when they were prescribed and for how much or how long. That should help reduce incidences of prescription drug abuse, doctors said.

Dr. Eric Hartz, chief medical officer with Eastern Maine Medical Center, said Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems has a similar system already in place. But as an oncologist, Hartz treats many patients from practices outside of his system.

“I take care of patients from literally around the state,” he said in an interview. “I end up ordering extra tests because I need the information right away.”

Having up-to-date information at his fingertips from offices around the state will be an “unbelievable” asset to him and enable him to deliver better, more timely care and avoid duplication, Hartz said.

kmiller@bangordailynews.net

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