Overhaul of Texas foster care system includes EHR implementation

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has implemented an EHR system for the more than 30,000 children under its supervision, Government Technology reported July 22.

 

The program, called Health Passport, is part of an overhaul of Texas’ foster care system and is the first of its kind in the country, according to the online publication. The goal is to provide a more complete and accurate snapshot of a child’s medical history than was previously available.

 

Health Passport gathers a child’s medical data from an array of companies, state agencies, and practitioners into one location where it is accessible by guardians and physicians, the publication reported. The system updates most information automatically and follows a child upon placement in a new foster home.

 

Moving children from one home and set of guardians and physicians to another creates special security concerns, according to the article. The system employs unique identifiers for users and 19 access levels that recognize distinct user roles; foster parents are unable to alter data pertaining to a child’s office visit history, for example. Anytime a user logs in, the system automatically checks the daily updated list of individuals who should have access.

 

Click here to read the Government Technology article.