A federal grant will give physicians in Southern Oregon and Northern California faster access to many patients’ hospital records.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $1 million to Asante Health System to create a computer network linking six rural hospitals, 11 medical clinics and about 350 physicians. Asante is the parent company of Rogue Valley Medical Center and Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass.

The network will allow physicians in Gold Beach, for example, to go to their computers to review hospital records for their patients who had been treated at RVMC.

Physicians will have instant access to patient information that includes "everything from allergies to X-ray images to what kinds of medicine someone received in the hospital," said Mark Hetz, Asante’s chief information officer.

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Computers have vast potential for sharing medical information, but the number of computers and the variety of medical software in use has sharply limited the exchange of information.

Hospital records are currently transmitted by fax, but physicians often have to wait for someone to collect and fax the documents. Hetz said Asante’s two hospitals hope the network pays for itself by improving the efficiency of medical- record transmission.

"Right now when a physician’s office wants (patient) information, somebody has to stop what they’re doing and track down that information," Hetz said. "This (network) will streamline that process."

The network will link Asante with Ashland Community Hospital, Merle West Medical Center in Klamath Falls, Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach, Coquille Valley Hospital in Coquille, Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay, and Fairchild Medical Center in Yreka, Calif. Clinics in Cave Junction, Wolf Creek, Selma, Shady Cove, Rogue River and Klamath Falls also will be wired into the network.

Hetz said the network should be completed by 2006. Hospitals and clinics that are not linked to the network will still be able to receive patient information via fax.

The agriculture department also will provide Asante with $10 million in low-interest loans to complete the network. Rep. Greg Walden, (R-Hood River) is scheduled to present Asante officials with a $1 million check at 1:30 p.m. today at Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass.

The funds come from the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service, which helps rural areas improve their information technology systems. In 2000 and 2001, the Rural Utilities Service gave Asante about $830,000 to establish a medical-records network linking Three Rivers Community Hospital, Rogue Valley Medical Center, Oregon Health & Science University and about 100 Josephine County physicians.

Hetz said the project will use computer software developed by Siemens Medical Solutions to collect and share patient information. Several hospitals across the United States are already using the Soarian software.

Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail bkettler@mailtribune.com