PA closes in on health IT network

Within two years, Pennsylvania should have in place a first-generation, Internet-based communications network that allows for the exchange of patient health data among doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, insurers and, eventually, the federal government. Pennsylvania has been staked to about $17 million in federal stimulus money to help build its statewide HIE system, and in February 2012, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett made appointments to the new Pennsylvania eHealth Collaborative Advisory Committee. In the intervening months, stakeholder groups have been meeting with consultants and contractors to iron out the finer details of the exchange networks.