Its consortium aims to accelerate the adoption of health information technologies for the exchange of patient records. Access to accurate and up-to-date patient information is critical to the practice of medicine today. Misdiagnoses, contradicting prescriptions, repeated tests and a host of other problems often result when physicians do not have access to current information.

A first initiative for the consortium is implementing a ‘Pay-for-Performance’ programme using the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Physician Practice Connections (PPC) program. Already in use in Bridges to Excellence programmes in several states, the PPC national standards recognise physician practices that employ systematic processes and health information technology to improve quality.

By establishing rewards for the use of processes and technology, the group hopes to accelerate the transition to electronic health records and the use of automated decision support tools. Such tools can help doctors determine which course of therapy might be best for a particular patient given the latest science and medical histories.

Initially, Cisco, Intel and Oracle will pay financial incentives to participants based on measurements in three key categories: evidence-based care, care management and patient education.