Texas Electronic Health Passport for Foster Care Abstract
In 2007, 27 states received Medicaid Transformation Grants under Section 6081 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The grants were rewarded to states that proposed innovative methods which in the end of the two years are designed to produce better health outcomes at lower cost.
The Center for Health Transformation is highlighting states that have received these Medicaid Transformation Grants, and will be following their progress for the next two years. In order for key decisionmakers and industry leaders from around the country to learn from others’ successes, it is our intention to provide this resource in order to showcase innovative practices from across the nation. In the future, this site will be interactive, allowing program directors to submit updates and comments regarding their program.
Click here for the complete grant application>>
The State of Texas is implementing a comprehensive medical services delivery model for children in foster care as part of a statewide reform effort to improve the health and welfare of children in state custody. As part of this initiative, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission plans to implement an innovative electronic health record (EHR), referred to as the “Health Passport,” that will function as an easily accessible, web-based record of medical and administrative information related to each foster child. The Health Passport would serve three groups of ‘customers’ – foster children and their caregivers, healthcare providers, and Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) staff – to provide portability of healthcare data, improve continuity of patient care, expedite access to needed services, reduce medical errors, enhance service coordination, and improve healthcare outcomes.
The State is requesting a Transformation Grant in the amount of $4,000,000 to implement the Health Passport in conjunction with the comprehensive managed care program for foster care. Grant funds would be used to assist the State with initial development and implementation costs to create an enhanced EHR that is uniquely designed to benefit the foster care population. The enhanced EHR system will integrate historical claims-based data with ongoing accumulation of clinical data generated by direct care providers. This enhanced system will be able to search, manipulate and present data in formats that optimize value for all customers. The Health Passport will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Medicaid program through improvements in the timely access to medical records, enhanced quality of care, reductions in the duplication of services, lower physician error rates, and better monitoring of drug prescribing practices. The overall outcome will be more effective and efficient service delivery, particularly with better management of costly prescription drugs, which may result in potential cost savings to the State and, more importantly, will lead to improvements in the health and well-being of thousands of Texas’ most fragile children.
