Another Delay in Getting Electronic Health Records to First Responders

While emergency medical services would seem to be an area where instant access to health records would be critically important, implementing such a scheme has proven difficult. An attempt to institute a statewide system five years ago has met with numerous obstacles and now seems to be back to square one.

When the state contracted in 2008 with emsCharts, a Pittsburgh-based software supplier, to offer all EMS providers access to electronic health records, officials had high hopes that the data would soon be available to paramedics and other EMS workers across the state.

With six months left on the contract, however, emsCharts has declared bankruptcy. Some 37 percent of EMS organizations have adopted the software program, and state officials are reviewing where to go from here.

Sen. Linda R. Greenstein (D-Mercer and Middlesex) raised the issue with state Health Commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd at a Senate budget hearing yesterday, questioning what the state plans to do when the emsCharts contract expires on October 31. She noted that state budget documents left it unclear whether the program would continue to be funded.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com

NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded

Follow Patch on Twitter, Facebook and click to sign up for News Alerts. News tip? E-mail teaneck@patch.com