AMA announces development of H1N1 decision support program

24 September 2009

The AMA is actively engaged as a member of the Flu Information Care System (FICS) Coalition that is supporting the use of a decision support IT platform as one potential solution in response to the H1N1 pandemic. The system will be provided to physicians and patients at no cost to meet the needs of local communities in meeting this challenge.

The platform provides a number of functionalities: 

• Delivers evidence-based, patient self-assessment tools based upon CDC guidance to physicians and their patients on a realtime basis; 
• Enables remote patient monitoring based upon the results of these tools that will allow physicians to better respond to the needs of their patients and manage demand on their practices; 
• Facilitates communication between patients, family members and their health care team; and 
• Provides the opportunity for patients to share their data with government and public health authorities if they elect to.

For individuals who are not actively connected to the web, the content can also be delivered to cell phones. This will extend the reach into underserved populations who are at high risk for H1N1 and who may face challenges in accessing information and care.

The FICS platform will be tested in a number of communities in October.