Piedmont Technical College recently co-hosted a health care conference with Self Regional Healthcare entitled “What Electronic Medical Records and the Health Information Exchange Mean to You.”

A collaborative effort between the two organizations, the half-day conference was created for the benefit of physicians’ offices and training providers to inform them of the benefits of electronic medical records.

“As national lawmakers wrestle with health care reform, health care providers across the country are increasingly meeting challenges,” said Trisha Craven, associate vice president for Continuing Education & Economic Development. “Piedmont Technical College and Self Regional Healthcare convened this gathering of health care professionals and educators to discuss the benefits, the concerns and the workforce needs stemming from the implementation of an electronic records system.”

Piedmont Tech is part of a grant application with 21 other technical and community colleges in 13 states who are working towards creating training programs to help local health care providers convert to an electronic records system. Working alongside Self Regional Healthcare, one of the area’s largest employers and a leader in health care, Piedmont Technical College will provide insight into advances in electronic health care communication through the educational perspective.

“Over the last 10 years, the medical community here has had an increasing interest in developing a cradle-to-grave type electronic health record that would reduce needless redundancy in patient care, including redundant testing,” said Dr. David Isenhower, a physician with Greenwood Ear, Nose & Throat who presented at the conference. “What’s happened now is the technology, the government funding sources have all come together so we can get this thing off the ground.”

With the required transfer of paper health care documents to electronic files in the near future, the search for qualified training will ensue. Piedmont Technical College, the area’s leader in health care training, will review options to provide quality electronic medical records training to all medical practices in our area.

“We need trained folks to run these systems,” said Isenhower. “A major event has been the willingness of schools like Piedmont Tech and other technical colleges in the state to be willing to be training centers for the non-physician personnel in the offices so we can move forward with this.”

For more information, contact Continuing Education at (864) 941-8400.

Photo Caption: Piedmont Technical College recently co-hosted a health care conference with Self Regional Healthcare entitled “What Electronic Medical Records and the Health Information Exchange Mean to You.” Vicki Onisick, a representative of the AllScripts electronic medical records software.