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Michigan medical society to launch health IT exchange

The MSMS-sponsored network will be offered free to society members in hopes of driving adoption of information technology.

By Pamela Lewis Dolan, AMNews staff. Nov. 24, 2008.

The Michigan State Medical Society is creating a physician network that intends to connect 15,000 physicians across the state.

Medical societies across the country have been advocating health IT adoption in recent years. But generally that involvement has been limited mostly to offering practical advice or tips on choosing the right system. MSMS Connect will be the first network sponsored by a statewide medical society. It will be offered free to its members. Nonmembers will be charged a yet-to-be-determined fee.

"This will give all physicians who are members and some who are not the opportunity to move into a world of information technology in as big of a way as they want," said Greg Forzley, MD, chair of the MSMS board of directors. Dr. Forzley is also the medical director of informatics for Saint Mary's Health Care and Advantage Health Physicians Network in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Dr. Forzley said the network will meet each physician where they are in technology adoption and create a one-login network to which several systems can be connected. Through the system, which he describes as a portal, physicians can access applications including lab results, e-prescribing, patient registries and regional health information exchanges. Physicians can also message one another through a secure communications system.

Dr. Forzley said this is a first step to full access of online health information and that other services will be added as they become available. Physicians can pick and chose which applications they would like to have access to.

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