MINNEAPOLIS, August 20, 2007 — Minnesota is near the front of the pack of states pursuing health information technology, according to a report on GovHealthIt.com, a website dedicated to e-government issues.

The state is out ahead of other states in the shifts to e-prescribing, paperless health plan claims and -- eventually -- an interoperable e-medical record for every Minnesotan, the story said:

"As of Jan. 15, 2009, health care providers can no longer submit any claims on paper, and eligibility checks also must be done online. The aim of the legislation proposed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is to cut administrative costs, not only by doing business online but also by adopting a uniform coding and billing system. It will be the country’s first for an entire state, according to the governor’s staff.

"Meanwhile, the state has selected a single pharmacy benefits manager to handle drug benefits for all 115,000 state employees and dependents. It will require doctors treating employees and their families to use e-prescribing rather than paper prescriptions by the beginning of 2011. Those who don’t comply will face being barred from getting reimbursed for treating those enrolled in the state employee health plan." [SOURCE]

The moves are expected to save the state government about $5 million a year, the story said, primarily from efficiency but also from managing patients’ use of medications.

The requirement that all Minnesota doctors, hospitals and other health care providers implement interoperable e-medical records for their patients by the beginning of 2015, is in line with President Bush’s position that Americans should have EMRs by 2014.

The Legislature has appropriated $14 million to help small, rural health care providers and safety net clinics implement EMR systems.

The state also is engaged in several performance measurement and quality reporting initiatives. The Minnesota eHealth Collaborative, a public/private partnership, is working on a health information exchange infrastructure. And the Legislature also updated the state's privacy laws in preparation for having patients' medical records online.