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This week, the Oklahoma State Department of Health took a major step into the 21st century by requesting $26 million in ARPA funding to update the current paper system they use for health records to a digital system. The request has received initial approval from the Judicial Committee on Pandemic Relief and now must pass through the full House and Senate for the funds to be released.

OSDH indicated to the federal governmnet in its application for the funds that the implementation of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, which is used already in most states, is long overdue in Oklahoma. With its implementation, the state believes it can more easily and accurately provide information to the federal government on health issues and trends related to COVID but also process daily reqeusts from government agencies, physicians, hospitals and other organizations in a timely manner rather than taking weeks and sometimes months to answer.