Nashville – Gov. Phil Bredesen has announced a statewide council to guide the ongoing development of eHealth initiatives across the state and a new initiative in the Tri-cities area.

Since Bredesen’s State of the State address in 2002 where he pledged resources to build Tennessee’s health information infrastructure to both help Tennesseans and be a model for the nation, a portfolio of eHealth initiatives have launched across the state.

As a result, Tennessee has established some of the most promising pilot projects in the nation for the development of a portable electronic medical record. By leveraging state and federal funds Tennessee is accomplishing leading edge changes in the health information technology sector.

“Our goal is efficient and effective delivery of health information to improve the quality of care provided to the citizens of Tennessee,” said Gov. Bredesen. “If someone’s medical history and record of care is available to their hospital, laboratory, pharmacy or physician, then they will ultimately receive better and more cost-effective medical care.”

Senior federal officials have indicated that eHealth and the development of electronic medical records will be a key element in President Bush’s State of the Union address next week. This strategy has also gained strong bi-partisan support from national figures ranging from Newt Gingrich to Hillary Clinton.

The Council will guide ongoing eHealth initiatives in Tennessee to ensure interoperability, facilitate the definition of uniform standards, eliminate duplication of effort and reduce competition for resources.

A Portfolio of Initiatives:

- CareSpark: Tri-cities Area
The establishment of a coordinating council comes in time to fully integrate a new initiative in the Tri-Cities TN/VA region, CareSpark, which originated from work done by a coalition of physicians, hospitals, employers, health plans and community leaders over the past three years. The state has committed $1 million to support this regional initiative -- an effort that is also attracting national attention.

CareSpark is participating in the Central Appalachian region's prototype (encompassing northeastern TN, southwest VA, southeastern KY and WV) for a National Health Information Network. This prototype is funded through a $5.6 million contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administered by Accenture. Their goal is to develop an interoperable standards-based network for the secure exchange of health care information.

"We are proud to be contributing to this important work leveraging technology to deliver better medical care and deeply appreciate the state's support of our project," said Dr. David Reagan, chairman of the CareSpark Board of Directors. "Local, state and national leaders have really rallied to support our efforts to deliver quality care and improve health status in Central Appalachia."

- MidSouth eHealth Alliance: Memphis
In place since 2004, the MidSouth eHealth Alliance in Memphis serves as the nexus for a broad, subscriber-based data-sharing organization working toward a model for electronic medical records that could be applied nationally. They are partnered with Vanderbilt University, a leader in the health information technology field.

The state has committed just under $9 million over five years to this effort and is also leveraging an additional $5 million from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Tennessee is one of only five states to receive this AHRQ grant.

“The Governor’s initiative in Memphis has truly catalyzed the health care delivery community to focus on health needs of all Tennesseans at this critical juncture,” said David Archer, chairman of the Board for the MidSouth eHealth Alliance. "We believe that secure and confidential exchange of health information will provide our patients with better care by ensuring both better continuity of care and sparing them the risk and discomfort of unnecessary tests and procedures. More information, given to health care clinicians with the consent of their patients, will lead to better care."

- Shared Health: TennCare
TennCare, Tennessee’s expanded Medicaid program providing health insurance coverage to 1.2 million Tennesseans, has also implemented an electronic medical record initiative in partnership with Shared Health, a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee.

"There is a huge opportunity to enhance medical care and contain costs by providing clinicians with access to a patient’s complete medical record," said Dr. J.D. Hickey, director of the Bureau of TennCare. This initiative is designed to connect a patient’s medical information between clinicians including prescriptions, medical claims, immunizations and lab results.

- Eastern Tennessee Health Information Network: Knoxville
An electronic medical record project in Knoxville is in the early developmental stages as well. The Physicians' Foundation for Health Systems Excellence, a Boston-based nonprofit, has invested $26 million nationwide to launch a program allowing hospitals, physicians, labs, pharmacies and other health-care organizations access to patient records to improve patient care and save money. Working through the Patient Safety Institute, a grant of $985,000 was made to the Eastern Tennessee Health Information Network in Knoxville, a collaboration of Knoxville's four major hospitals: Baptist Health System, Covenant Health, St. Mary's Health System and University Health System. As this project gets underway, the eHealth Coodinating Council hopes to integrate their endeavors with others across the state.

Council Leadership: Antoine Abdallah Agassi joins the team -
The role of the coordinating council will be crucial to assure a collaborative approach across pilot projects.

“By working together to define how data are shared across these initiatives, we will ensure that complete health information is secure but readily available for appropriate use,” said Department of Finance & Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz. “To lead this charge, we’re bringing on board Antoine Abdallah Agassi, a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in health information technology.”

Mr. Agassi, former chief technology officer for Spheris, will organize and manage the activities of the eHealth Coordinating Council.

“With his experience in information technology and change management, Antoine brings the right set of skills and leadership to take these initiatives to the next level and ensure that we achieve the important goals of this investment,” Mr. Goetz concluded.

Mr. Agassi brings significant related senior management experience; he was a part of the senior management team that led Spheris, the leading global outsource provider of medical transcription technology and services, from $16 million in revenue to over $220 million in less than three years. He has also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for WebMD, a leading provider of health information to consumers and health care professionals.