U of OK, IBM team to build EHR

The University of Oklahoma announced Thursday that its medical school will build an electronic health record pilot in conjunction with IBM. The program will include 355 doctors, and will help to connect data throughout 11 electronic medical records; it will be IBM's first "medical home" pilot with a med school. 

"Our new relationship with OU reflects our deep commitment to drive comprehensive healthcare reform through smarter healthcare solutions," said Robert Merkel of IBM Healthcare. 

The two also will combine to do research on issues like the "effects of human factors and technology upon each other in healthcare delivery settings" and the effects technology has on the doctor-patient relationship. OU and IBM also will look into how the technology will help patients to better manage their own lives. 

A health analytics platform that would "derive value" from the data in the connected EMRs also is in the works, according to Healthcare IT News. IBM will utilize open standards-based technology to store and analyze the school's medical data. 

"All Oklahomans can be proud that, after looking at the qualifications of medical schools in the nation, IBM selected the University of Oklahoma as its partner," OU President David Boren said. 

To learn more about the OU-IBM partnership:
- here's the Healthcare IT News article