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V O L . X X I N O. I V F E B R UA R Y 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 22 H E A LT H C A R E & W E L L N E S S F O C U S million in Medicare costs over an -month period, all by improving efficiencies. While Epic's management system for health records wasn't the sole driver of the cost savings, Cawley says it did help MaineHealth meet its health and population goals in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. "We have quality outcomes we are supposed to be hitting targets on so we're allowed to measure our perfor- mance [with Epic and other sys- tems]," she says. Attracting quality talent Spritz, of Growing Portland, says one of the largest issues MaineHealth and other stakeholders face in supporting the health informatics field is attract- ing quality talent. "at's a growing issue across America for informatics," he says. "It's a growing, burgeoning field and there's simply not the right number of people who have the skills to fill all the jobs." Luckily, one of the initiative's par- ticipating higher education institutions is building a new program that hopes to solve just that problem. Spritz says it was happenstance that the University of New England was looking to develop its own program at the same time the Growing Portland initiative began looking at how to improve the field. "e study points to them as the most exciting higher education oppor- tunity occurring in southern Maine," Spritz says, noting that there are other college programs throughout Maine that either directly or indirectly support the health informatics field. However, what may separate UNE's program is how closely it will work with some of the Growing Portland initiative's other stakeholders, such as IT consulting and outsourcing firm Winxnet and health care provider InterMed, both based in Portland. Ellen Beaulieu, UNE's vice president for academic affairs, says the companies are not just helping develop the program's curriculum, but they're also planning to enroll some of their employees in the program when it launches this fall. While the program will have open enrollment, she says it will focus on helping adults who haven't completed their degree and/or employees who may need training to improve their skills. "ey're probably going to be working in hospitals and insurance companies already," she says. Instead of the employer training them for a health informatics position, they'll be doing that "in concert with us, so the [employees will] be learning on the job in project-based teams," she adds. "ey'll have supervision and guidance from us, and then they'll get their bach- elor's degree, but they'll be in place at their [job] with a higher position." e program, which is being sup- ported by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will be UNE's first competency-based program, meaning that students will have to satisfy a set number of competencies to finish the program instead of the more traditional school model where students progress by completing classes. Chris Claudio, Winxnet's CEO, says his company began participating in the development of UNE's program after receiving an invitation from university President Danielle Ripich. Claudio, who serves on MaineHealth's board, is also involved with the Growing Portland initiative in part because nearly half of his company's business is with health care organizations. "I wanted to be part of it to make sure it's being steered in the right direction, because we're so immersed in it, we want to provide guidance on how to create jobs," he says. Claudio says developing the health informatics field is important because the use of electronic health record systems is helping health care organizations achieve the Institute of Healthcare Improvement's Triple Aim Initiative: "Improving the patient experience of care, improving the health of populations and reducing the per capita cost of health care." "For me, it's about making our state really the very best it could be, from a population health perspective and a health care delivery perspective," he says. D M , M a i n e b i z o n l i n e e d i t o r , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t @ . nhdlaw.com • Portland (207) 774-7000 • Lewiston (207) 777-5200 When it comes to legal issues regarding your personal life— or business—you can trust in our expertise, experience, and results-oriented focus. Easy. Breathe B e i n t o u c h a n d b r e at h e e a s i e r k n o w i n g yo u r b e s t i n t e r e s t s a r e o u r t o p p r i o r i t y. " " » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E For me, it's about making our state really the very best it could be, from a population health perspective and a health care delivery perspective. — Chris Claudio, CEO, Winxnet

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