A statewide forum for anyone planning or implementing electronic health records will be held on June 26 at the Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park. The fourth annual Minnesota e-Health Summit is also for anyone working on community or regional health information exchange in Minnesota. Past summits have attracted more than 400 people interested in health information technology.

The summit will focus on a new statewide plan that addresses how all health care providers can adopt and effectively use electronic health records to improve the quality of care. The plan is in response to legislation signed by Governor Pawlenty in 2007 that requires all providers to have an interoperable electronic health record system by 2015.

“Effective use of electronic health records will help transform our health care system, and every Minnesotan should benefit from that transformation,” said Jennifer Lundblad, Ph.D., co-chair of the Minnesota e-Health Advisory Committee and president and CEO of Stratis Health. “While important progress has been made in the larger care settings across the state, we still have work to do to support smaller and rural providers in adopting electronic health records.”

The annual summit is a joint venture of the Minnesota e-Health Initiative Advisory Committee, Stratis Health and the Minnesota Department of Health.

The Minnesota e-Health Initiative is a public-private collaborative whose vision is to accelerate the adoption and use of health information technology to improve health care quality, increase patient safety, reduce health care costs and improve public health.

More information about the summit, including registration instructions, can be obtained at www.health.state.mn.us/ehealth.