The National Science Foundation awarded Dartmouth a $3-million grant from for the Trustworthy Information Systems for Healthcare project, an initiative aimed at creating secure computer systems to manage health care information, the College announced on Wednesday.
Funding for the NSF grant came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal stimulus package passed in February, according to the NSF's web site. The NSF received $2.5 billion from the stimulus package to expand funding for science research projects, The Dartmouth previously reported.
The project's main goals include designing a system to keep health information secure while allowing health professionals to access data and providing health professionals with more flexibility in accessing a patient's information for example, by making data available by cell phone, according to a College press release.
One of the major hurdles for the project is that very little health care information is currently stored and transmitted electronically, Denise Anthony, a team member on the project and a sociology professor, said in an interview with The Dartmouth. An important first step for the group is designing an electronic records system that is both secure and usable to the many individuals involved in health care.
"When we talk about health information, it isn't just what doctors do with it," Anthony said. "It's also, as new technologies enable patients to monitor aspects of their health,how will that feed into that electronic health record? Who is responsible for protecting that information?"
The project brings together researchers from multiple College sectors, including the computer science and sociology departments, Dartmouth Medical School and the Tuck School of Business. Upper Valley organizations will also be involved, as well as the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt. and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, according to the team's web site.
The cooperation between these parties is intended to allow the team to balance both the needs of those providing treatment, while maintaining the integrity and privacy of the data, team member and DMS professor of anesthesiology Andrew Gettinger '76 said in the release.
Collaboration between researchers who develop health information technologies and those who make technologies usable and feasible from an economic standpoint is necessary to meet the complex needs presented by the health care system, Anthony said.
"We don't think you're going to be able to come up with an adequate solutionunless you have this multidisciplinary, collaborative approach," Anthony said.
The grant will allow new projects to be launched in addition to extending the reach of several that are already underway, Anthony said. The funding will allow for expanded consultation with professionals around the country, she added.
The team will also allocate funds for the hiring of new staff to assist the projects, as well as a workshop planned for this winter to unite various experts in computer science, health policy and clinical practice from around the world, Anthony said.
