Purpose
Arizona’s rural healthcare system is gaining more knowledge and seeking more leverage in the many uses of information technology. This forum addressed the current conditions and recommend future directions in these related areas: information infrastructure, electronic health records, distance education, workforce and quality improvement.

The forum was sponsored by the Arizona Rural Health Association in collaboration with the Rural Health Office.

Among the speakers were:

• Alison Hughes, Rural Health Office
Collaborating for Quality, Health Information Technology and Workforce Improvement

• Galen Updike, Governor’s Information Technology Agency,
Health Information Technology in Rural Arizona

• Tommy Mullins, Boone Memorial Hospital.
Migration to an Electronic Health Record at Boone Memorial Hospital

• Scott Endsley, Health Services Advisory Group,
Health Information Technology in Rural Arizona

• Mark Smith, MD, Banner Health, Arizona Region,
H.I.T in Rural Arizona

• Jack Beveridge, Pinal Gila Behavioral Health Association
PACE+: Empowering Healthcare Providers Through Health Information Technology

• Dr. Patty Moore, Northern Arizona University,
Northern Arizona University: Distance Education in Rural Arizona

• Anthony Rodgers, AHCCCS

• Elizabeth McNamee*, St. Luke's Health Initiative,
Arizona Health Query: HIT Resources for Rural Health Providers

* Roger Hughes, St. Luke's Foundation, substituted for Elizabeth McNamee and did not deliver this PowerPoint.