Lawton Service Unit Announced as First PATH EHR Pilot Site

by Mitchell Thornbrugh, Chief Information Officer and Director of the Office of Information Technology, Indian Health Service

September 12, 2024

The Indian Health Service is happy to announce that the Lawton Service Unit in the IHS Oklahoma City Area, including Lawton Hospital, Anadarko Indian Health Center, and Carnegie Indian Health Center, has been selected as the pilot site for implementing the new IHS enterprise electronic health record (EHR) solution, PATH EHR. Lawton Service Unit will implement PATH EHR’s functionality, usability, and compatibility in a real-world health care environment before it is rolled out on a larger scale.

This will allow the Health Information Technology Modernization Program team to identify and address any issues, refine the solution, and gather feedback to improve future deployment efforts.

Pilot site implementation will require a substantial degree of hands-on management by the Modernization Program and will be supported by the Enterprise Collaboration Group (ECG), a user-focused body that will inform the clinical and administrative configuration of the new PATH EHR.

One of the central principles of the program is to build and operate PATH EHR with our partners, not for them. The pilot site and the ECG will support this collaboration and help ensure that PATH EHR deployment minimizes facility disruptions and improves patient care and health care operations. The IHS looks forward to collaborating with the Lawton Service Unit to ensure PATH EHR provides a high-quality, modern health care IT solution for Indian Country.

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Register for 2024 Tribal Consultation and Urban Confer Events

With one more Health IT Modernization Program tribal consultation and urban confer event planned in 2024, we are committed to connecting and collaborating with partners through informative sessions and open forums. The hybrid event will be held on November 7, in person at IHS headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, and virtually via Zoom. Register here today!

Statement of Interest

We invite our partners to complete a non-binding document to help IHS understand which tribal and urban sites are interested in becoming part of the enterprise EHR solution partnership. The SOI form may be submitted by email to modernization@ihs.gov at any time. Federal sites are not required to complete the SOI form.

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Mitchell Thornbrugh, Chief Information Officer and Director of the Office of Information Technology, Indian Health Service

Mitchell Thornbrugh, an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is the Chief Information Officer for the Indian Health Service. His responsibilities include advising senior IHS leadership on all aspects of information resource management and technology and ensuring IHS compliance with information technology laws, regulations, and policies.

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