On Monday, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (Agency) Secretary Mary Mayhew honored National Health Information Technology (Health IT) Week.
“Initiated in 2006 by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), National Health IT Week has emerged as a landmark occasion for sharing information with policymakers, providers, and the public about the role of Health IT as critical infrastructure within the American health care system,” the agency noted.
“Leveraging health information technology is at the core of our mission to improve health care services, enhance the patient experience, better manage program costs, and equip Floridians with meaningful information. Governor DeSantis’ steadfast commitment to transparency and leadership in accelerating the merger of quality and pricing information using Florida Health Finder and Florida Health Price Finder has provided Floridians with a platform to make more informed health care decisions and shop for lower cost, quality services and procedures,” Mayhew said on Monday.
“Health IT Week is an opportunity for the public and private sectors to work together to raise awareness of the value of Health IT in modernizing our public health infrastructure and health care systems. Our agency supports a number of Health IT initiatives which seek to transform healthcare delivery. We have heard firsthand from providers that implementing the Florida Health Information Exchange Encounter Notification Service can reduce readmission rates leading to better, more cost effective care. Other Health IT initiatives such as electronic prescribing and telehealth can also help to reduce risks and improve access to care. We are proud to participate in highlighting Health IT, and will continue to work to further accelerate, expand and improve the Health IT tools available to patients and providers in Florida,” she added.
“The week’s events will include presentations by agency staff at both the South Florida HIMSS and Central North Florida HIMSS Chapters. The agency will also release several podcasts discussing electronic health records, telehealth, ePrescribing, health information exchange, and patient engagement,” Mayhew’s office noted.
