WHEELING, W.Va. — The conversion to paperless patient records, as well as improved disease management and tracking of health care outcomes, is now a reality for Wheeling Health Right, thanks to the new HEALTHeWV electronic health records (EHR) system launched recently at the free clinic.

HEALTHeWV, a congressionally sponsored program brought to the state through the efforts of U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) and managed by the National Technology Transfer Center at Wheeling Jesuit University, focuses on enhancing health care in rural communities through its chronic disease and prevention management tools. By offering health care providers quick access to the latest in evidence-based medicine guidelines and improving patient-provider communication with use of electronic health surveys and notetaking, HEALTHeWV goes beyond a typical EHR system to focus on patient care and improving patients’ health outcomes.

For Wheeling Health Right, whose providers see about 1,000 patients per month, electronic health records and automated state reporting functionalities have been high on the priority list for the last 10 years. “We are very excited to be the first Northern Panhandle pilot site for HEALTHeWV,” says Kathie Brown, executive director of Wheeling Health Right. “As a free clinic, we rely on state and grant funding and private donations, so it’s always been important for us to operate as efficiently as we can while providing the very best care to our patients. With HEALTHeWV and its automated features, our staff has more time to dedicate to patients and a more effective way to track and communicate patient progress among our providers and stakeholders.”

Wheeling Jesuit Vice President for Sponsored Programs J. Davitt McAteer says the University’s role in the HEALTHeWV project is an extension of its overall mission to make a positive difference in the lives of fellow West Virginians. “We are proud to manage HEALTHeWV’s technical deployment into the state’s medically underserved rural communities. We live and work in West Virginia and know how important this effort is to addressing the state’s high incidence of chronic disease and improving the health care of rural patients,” McAteer says. “We also greatly appreciate the time and effort of Kathie Brown and the Wheeling Health Right staff in helping to make this pilot project a success.”

Because two-thirds of all West Virginians die from heart disease, cancer or stroke, Senator Byrd has worked to improve rural health care for many years. “Because our state is predominantly rural, many of our citizens who suffer from chronic disease conditions lack access to the best available health care,” Byrd said. “I fully support the HEALTHeWV program because it specifically targets improving health care for rural patients and gives rural physicians access to the same medical information as their urban counterparts.” With the success of HEALTHeWV, Byrd says West Virginia can serve as a model to other states considering EHR systems.

The HEALTHeWV software was adapted from HEALTHeFORCES, an EHR system developed by Walter Reed Army Medical Center for use by the military. In 2003, Congress allowed for a portion of Walter Reed’s program funding to go toward collaborative projects, so an effort to ‘civilianize’ the product began. Ultimately, a partnership was formed among the software development team called HEALTHeSTATE, LLC, the NTTC at Wheeling Jesuit as program manager, and the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University as the testing consultant.

Using more than $8 million in federal funds that Senator Byrd obtained, the NTTC hopes to expand the HEALTHeWV program to 35 more clinics throughout the state.

Clinics interested in more information about the program can contact HEALTHeWV Program Director Dr. Mazharullah Shaik at (304) 243-2127 or visit www.healthewv.net.

The mission of the National Technology Transfer Center at Wheeling Jesuit University is to transfer federal technologies to U.S. industry and benefit the community. HEALTHeWV is a project whereby the National Technology Transfer Center has been directed by the U.S. Congress to transfer and adapt the army medical technology into medically underserved rural areas.