MaSSSoftech

Group working to help states with information technology

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) Grand Forks state Representative Ken Svedjan is among the members of a multi-state group working on the issue of electronic health records.

Svedjan says one question is how states will share the records of patients who move around.

Svedjan was in Vermont this week for a meeting of the State Alliance for e-Health.

The group is co-chaired by the governors of Vermont and Tennessee, and is working to help states adapt technology in health care. It's made up governors, state legislators, insurance commissioners and other experts.

The Obama administration is offering 17 billion dollars in stimulus funding to help health care providers replace paper records with electronic systems.

As an example Dr. David Sundwall, who works in Maine, called in a prescription to a Vermont pharmacy for a patient across in New York. He says technology is needed to help reduce health care costs.

But others say the government needs to have standards for IT systems and design a national network.