Agency for Health Care Administration (Agency) Secretary Mary Mayhew today recognized the benefits that Health Information Technology (Health IT) provides for health care consumers and patients in Florida in honor of the National Health IT Week, September 23-27. The Agency is joining other state and national leaders in celebrating Health IT Week.
Initiated in 2006 by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), National Health IT Week has emerged as a landmark occasion for sharing information with policymakers, providers, and the public about the role of Health IT as critical infrastructure within the American health care system.
Secretary Mary Mayhew said, “Leveraging health information technology is at the core of our mission to improve health care services, enhance the patient experience, better manage program costs, and equip Floridians with meaningful information. Governor DeSantis’ steadfast commitment to transparency and leadership in accelerating the merger of quality and pricing information using Florida Health Finder and Florida Health Price Finder has provided Floridians with a platform to make more informed health care decisions and shop for lower cost, quality services and procedures.
“Health IT Week is an opportunity for the public and private sectors to work together to raise awareness of the value of Health IT in modernizing our public health infrastructure and health care systems. Our Agency supports a number of Health IT initiatives which seek to transform healthcare delivery. We have heard firsthand from providers that implementing the Florida Health Information Exchange Encounter Notification Service can reduce readmission rates leading to better, more cost effective care. Other Health IT initiatives such as electronic prescribing and telehealth can also help to reduce risks and improve access to care. We are proud to participate in highlighting Health IT, and will continue to work to further accelerate, expand and improve the Health IT tools available to patients and providers in Florida.”
In celebration of National Health IT Week, the Agency is spotlighting information on the Agency’s Health IT initiatives throughout the week. The week’s events will include presentations by Agency staff at both the South Florida HIMSS and Central North Florida HIMSS Chapters. The Agency will also release several podcasts discussing electronic health records, telehealth, ePrescribing, health information exchange, and patient engagement.
The Agency for Health Care Administration is committed to better health care for all Floridians. The Agency administers Florida’s Medicaid program, licenses and regulates more than 48,000 health care facilities and 47 health plans, and publishes health care data and statistics at FloridaHealthFinder.gov. Additional information about Agency initiatives is available via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
