Capturing and Integrating Patient Healthcare Information to Improve Accessibility

The healthcare industry has faced challenges in adopting new computer technology to track patient data. Changes in the industry have made it more important than ever to adapt information infrastructures so that patient records and related data are accessible to a variety of healthcare professionals, regardless of their locations or the types of systems they use. In 1995, 3M Company Health Information Systems applied for co-funding from the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) to further develop the technology necessary to bring this information infrastructure to market. With ATP funding and its own capital, 3M developed revolutionary technologies that allow healthcare providers not only to maintain their investments in legacy systems, but also to migrate demographic and clinical information into a clinical data repository. The technology, marketed in several 3M products, is now used by more than 150 healthcare facilities nationwide.