Grant funding will help safety net clinic minimize disparities in care

Fort Wayne, Ind. - August 15, 2011 - NoMoreClipboard (NMC), one of the leading personal health record vendors in the U.S., today announced a new partnership with Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) of Monroe County, a free medical clinic in Indiana for adults without health insurance. The partnership will make personal health records available to VIM patients, giving them online access to electronic health information.

Earlier this year, VIM was awarded grant funding from the Indiana Department of Health to provide a personal health record to patients with diabetes. VIM personnel will help patients create and populate a PHR account, which will help them manage diabetes online or via mobile phone. Patients with diabetes will maintain electronic diaries of weight, blood glucose and blood pressure levels, and will be able to share information electronically with clinic personnel. The PHR will help VIM communicate with patients to manage reminders and alerts and maintain compliance.

"Traditionally, underserved residents struggle the most with their health conditions because they do not always have access to the same quality of care as those with health insurance," said Elizabeth Thompson, Executive Director of Volunteers in Medicine of Monroe County. "We are excited to offer our patients a NoMoreClipboard PHR that will give them access to their own healthcare information and help them take a more active role in managing their disease. This will also help prevent expensive complications that could arise down the road for patients who are non-compliant."

VIM is also participating as a pilot site in another project funded by a grant from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. This Challenge Grant was awarded to NoMoreClipboard and Indiana Health Information Technology, Inc. to provide patients access to health information exchange data.

As part of the Challenge Grant program, VIM will partner with NoMoreClipboard and local HIE HealthLINC to expand PHR availability to all interested VIM patients. VIM will help its patients establish a PHR and populate it with available data from the HealthLINC HIE. As VIM patients are referred to area hospitals and specialists, they will be able to share PHR data – enhancing coordination of care and helping providers improve outcomes while reducing costs.

"The state of Indiana has always been at the forefront of health IT with five HIE's working together to connect physicians, hospitals, clinics and labs, but the patient has been left out of the process," said NoMoreClipboard president Jeff Donnell. "These two projects with VIM are expected to arm an often overlooked patient population with valuable information - information that has the power to help correct disparities in care."

About Volunteers in Medicine
The community-operated, community-owned and community-financed Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of Monroe County is modeled after a national program with a history of success in other communities around the country. The clinic is currently located at 811 West Second Street. For more information or to volunteer for the Volunteers in Medicine clinic, visit www.vimmonroecounty.org or send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . To make a donation to the clinic, contact the Bloomington Hospital Foundation at (812) 353-9528. Volunteers in Medicine is a national program with a history of success in other communities around the country. The community of Hilton Head, South Carolina, led by a group of retired medical professionals, established the first clinic. That clinic serves as a model for over 82 additional Volunteers in Medicine clinics in cities across the United States, including Columbus and Indianapolis, Indiana. For more information, please visit http://www.vimi.org.