Using the credit card industry as a model, and based on the information provided by two large-scale pilot projects, a successful uniform statewide healthcare information system that produces Coordinated Medical Records and Coordinated Statistics and Reports will have three major components: (1) a Central Database, (2) Regional Service Centers, and (3) a Uniform Point-of-Service Network.

1) A Central Database: This database will be established and maintained by a first-tier data processing company such as IBM or EDS. Each patient will have secure access to their own coordinated record. The rule sets in the system will allow each patient to indicate where they want their record to be seen.

Real-time, privacy-protected clinical and financial reports will be generated from the database. These comprehensive reports will help document the actual quality and cost of healthcare. They will improve public health programs. They will increase the value of medical literature.

2) Regional Service Centers: These Centers will produce significant economy-of-scale savings throughout the entire healthcare industry by centralizing the numerous administrative functions that are currently inefficiently duplicated at every insurance carrier and every healthcare provider site in the state.

Specifically, these Centers will serve as single points of contact for coordinating, organizing and cleaning the demographic and insurance information that is in each patient’s medical record. This will streamline the enrollment, the eligibility, and the billing processes in the entire industry.

3) A Uniform Point-of-Service Network: Every insurance carrier and every healthcare provider will use the same information system. The software of the system will contain automated routing rules that make communication between healthcare providers efficient and cost effective. The uniformity of the system will allow each patient’s coordinated record to be accessed, with the patient’s permission, at any caresite in the state. This will support the patient’s ability to be treated by any care provider of their choosing.

The  system will include a comprehensive drug interaction warning program, an automated referral management component, and an automated, transparent billing process.