DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INDIANAPOLIS NETWORK FOR PATIENT-CARE AND RESEARCH

We are creating a health care information network that will link a lar ge community medical record system to three hospital emergency departm ents, fifty community pharmacies, ten clinics, four health-maintenance organization (HMO) offices, and twelve homeless care sites in Indiana polis, Indiana. This project will test the feasibility of linking care providers across organizational boundaries and measure the benefits o f such a network. The network will supply three kinds of information s ervices: 'mini-medical library,'' patient medical record information, and a citywide prescription database incorporating a computer-based pr escription-writing system. The use of medical resources, the cost of c are, provider time spent giving care, and providers' opinions of the s ervices will be used as outcomes in randomized clinical trials. Throug h this project, we hope to expand the information base available to th e target care sites; reduce unnecessary testing and increase the effic iency of care in emergency departments; improve emergency department, office, and clinic prescribing patterns; enlarge the consortium of hea lth care providers connected by the network; and develop strategies fo r successfully implementing a comprehensive city medical record resour ce.