Program Puts Migrant Workers’ Health Records Online
A pilot program aimed at improving the health care of migrant workers is giving no-cost electronic health records to California farm workers and their families, the AP/Washington Post reports.
MiVIA -- which stands for Visitor Access Information and also means "my way" in Spanish -- was created in 2003 by Sonoma-based technology firm Medical Management Resources. It started as a partnership with Vineyard Workers Services, a farm worker advocacy group, and it aimed to make health care more accessible to seasonal workers.
The program started with 50 workers and now has a network of 2,200. Hospitals and clinics in the San Joaquin Valley this spring will start enrolling more participants, and another 1,000 workers in Napa and Sonoma are expected to join by June.
Participants in the program are given laminated identification cards with their pictures, addresses and emergency contact information. Patients receive passwords that they can use to access their records and can give to physicians.
Patients also can access an online bilingual medical reference guide and information on where to find housing, public transportation, clinics and dentists (Barbassa, AP/Washington Post, 3/8).