SILVERTHORNE — A broad patient records data base, education on insurance and treatment options, and new services for seniors: This could be the future of Summit County health care.

Industry leaders gathered Monday at the Silverthorne Pavilion to continue an on-going conversation about Summit County's health care needs, including emerging barriers and potential solutions for service gaps.

According to CARE council chairman Lee Zimmerman, the round table seeks to find ways to communicate care strategies, streamline information and collaborate in the community.

“We're looking at opportunities for technology to ease the access-to-health-care barriers,” he said.

Summit County's health care needs

The group last met on June 29, and it identified three main areas of needs in the community — Communication strategies to streamline information; opportunities for collaboration; and new technologies. Work groups formed in June to discuss cost issues, health care policy and technology. And on Monday they shared their findings.

According to the Summit Community Care Clinic's executive director Sarah Vaine, having a database of all health information for all patients in the area would streamline care. Electronic health records would make emergency care better, she said, but technologies are expensive, and the effort is long-term in scale.

“I want to be able to look at disease trends throughout the population,” she added. A broad electronic system could potentially do just that.

Vaine noted funding and changing technologies as barriers to realizing this goal, but she said: “I hope we're right on the edge of realizing this.”

Health care leaders also discussed the possibility of having clinics navigating insurance options and the continuum of care — who qualifies for what services.

“(Insurance) is not an option, it's a necessity,” said Tamara Drangstveit, the executive director of the Family and Intercultural Resource Center. She said having presentations about health care service topics would create community knowledge and awareness — a necessity for people who think they have limited options.

Drangstveit also suggested having a pubic forum to educate Summit County's leadership about health care and insurance. This could potentially help businesses and towns come up with ideas for encouraging preventative care.

“It will start people thinking,” she said. “I want it to be a safe place for the community to learn.”

The round-table conversation will continue as group members seek community collaborations and address service gaps — like senior care, mental health care, specialty practices, substance abuse issues and an increase in locals being uninsured or underinsured.

For more information about the “Access to Health Care in Summit County” round table, e-mail Zimmerman at tsfdirector@summitfoundation.org.

Caitlin Row can be reached at (970) 668-4633 or at crow@summitdaily.com.