Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL) manages the clinical data in the state’s health information exchange that drives OneCare VT’s informatics. Health providers across the state use OneCare’s technology to coordinate clinical care and various community health programs.
VITL CEO Mike Smith provided VHCF with a report (see below) that showed dubious data feeds OneCare’s analytic tools.
The analysis compared VITL data to the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) Epic electronic health record system for cases of essential hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes mellitus in 2017. VITL and UVMMC Epic patient records data had a complete match only in 46.6 percent of cases of diabetes and 41.7 percent cases of hypertension. A more appalling finding was the absence of blood pressure readings in the VITL database for 39.7 percent of cases of hypertension.
The inaccurate and incomplete nature of the database raises pressing concerns about the clinical care and public health interventions implemented by the ACO, and the implications for patients and community members.