Case Studies

Improving Technology at Community Clinics

Since Hurricane Katrina, much of LPHI’s work has focused on rebuilding and expanding capacity in community-based primary and behavioral health care in the Greater New Orleans area through leadership, planning, technical assistance, and facilitating coordination among various stakeholders.

In order to help the Partnership for Access to Health Care (PATH) program drive innovation in the regional primary care system, LPHI formed the PATH Health Information System Team, or PHIS, a multi-disciplinary group consisting of LPHI employees with expertise in clinical operations, evaluation and data management, and information technology. This PHIS team provided critical technical assistance by planning, designing, and supporting information systems for several primary care community clinics.

These efforts form the basis of a larger capacity building effort with the eventual goal of shifting the entire network of primary care providers to an industry-standard system of interoperable electronic medical records (EMRs).

EMRs have emerged as a focal point of progress in the delivery of healthcare, both nationally and in Louisiana, primarily on the promise that such technology can reduce costs, improve disease maintenance, promote system integration, and enable public health surveillance.

Unfortunately, in many cases, community-based primary care clinics face limited capacity to implement and to support sophisticated information technologies like EMR systems due to gaps in staffing, resources, and relevant expertise.

To address these gaps, the PHIS team assumed the role of “technology intermediary” for several clinics in the PATH network, providing information technology consulting and needs assessment, workflow redesign, data utilization improvement, and ongoing technical and infrastructure support.

Thus far, PHIS has provided assistance to clinics operated by Daughters of Charity Services New Orleans, EXCELth Inc., and New Orleans Health Department, as well as the Tulane University Community Health Center at Covenant House, St. Thomas Community Health Center, and Common Ground Health Clinic.