Maine Hospitals Launch Electronic Records Exchange

Maine hospitals are all charged up over the idea of switching from paper documents to electronic health records.

In fact, so much that all of the acute-care hospitals in the state have recently decided to implement a statewide network that gives all health care providers access to patient’s health records using the latest technology.

The system is called HealthInfoNet and so far, 34 of the state's hospitals are already using this health records exchange, with several more expected to follow suit by the end of the year. Incidentally, Maine is one of the few states in the nation to connect all of it hospitals through a single health record provider.

However, the federal government has been urging other states to get on board with this program, as it has been proven to prevent medical errors, duplicate testing and aid in improving the accuracy of diagnosis.

Representatives from HealthInfoNet says that they plan upgrade the types of data that is shared throughout the Maine medical community throughout the duration of 2013.