Recent Press Releases

Washington, D.C. —  Senator John Thune today applauded the announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that the South Dakota eHealth Collaborative, a group of hospitals, clinics, physicians, insurers, and other health organizations across the state, has been selected for the Electronic Health Records demonstration project. The project provides financial incentives for primary care physicians to use electronic health records as a way to improve the quality of patient care and reduce costs.

"Making the transition to electronic medical records can significantly reduce the errors that can arise because of hard-copy records," said Thune. "Expanded access to electronic records, as well as advancing telehealth technology, will help continue to improve the quality of care available to South Dakotans while at the same time reducing the cost of care."

An Electronic Health Record is a computerized patient medical file which includes prescriptions records, test results, treatment histories, and X-rays. Electronic Health Records can improve accuracy of prescriptions, lead to quicker diagnoses, and improve communication between patients and physicians, as well as between different physicians.

Over the five year demonstration project, physicians may be eligible for payments of up to $58,000 and practices up to $290,000 to cover the cost of transitioning to electronic records.