Area chosen for pilot program in health

CONCORD — Rowan County residents will have access to a new program that will use information technology to expand and improve care for patients with certain diseases and conditions.

The Southern Piedmont Community Care Plan in Concord has been selected one of 15 pilot sites nationwide for the Beacon Communities program, Vice President Joe Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Tuesday.

The government awarded a total of $220 million from federal stimulus funding. The Community Care Plan will receive $15.9 million for its planned work with Medicaid recipients in Cabarrus, Rowan and Stanly counties.

With that funding, the program will improve care coordination for patients with diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and asthma by linking patients and providers in a data-sharing health record bank; allow patients and family members to self-manage through patient portals; and expand access to care managers for post-discharge planning.

The Beacon projects are also expected to initially create dozens of new jobs in each community paying an average of $70,000 per year for a total of 1,100 jobs up-front, while accelerating development of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure that will eventually employ tens of thousands of people, a press release said.

"These pioneering communities are going to lead the way in bringing smarter, lower-cost health care to all Americans through use of electronic health records. Because of their early efforts, doctors across the country will one day be able to coordinate patient care with the stroke of a key or pull up life-saving health information instantly in an emergency — and for the residents of these communities, that future is about to become a reality," Biden said in the press release.

Other efforts to be funded with the federal money include reducing obesity and diabetes, improving chronic disease management, reducing preventable emergency department visits and re-hospitalization, achieving better immunization rates and increasing adherence to smoking cessation and appropriate cancer screening guidelines.

Sebelius said the pilot programs "will tap the best ideas across America and demonstrate the enormous benefit health IT will have to improving health and care within our communities."

The Southern Piedmont Community Care Plan is the only site in North Carolina named to take part in the initiative.

"By integrating information technology into our health care system we can improve the quality and efficiency of care and make sure North Carolinians get the right care, at the right place, at the right time." Gov. Bev Perdue said in a press release. "This award is another indication that North Carolina is a leader in Health IT."