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, a free health clinic in the that serves uninsured patients in Plainfield, N.J., has received a grant to transition from a paper-based system to an electronic health record (EHR) system.

The grant, awarded through the , will provide a cloud-based EHR service at no cost starting in December 2024 to enhance the quality of care provided to patients and the educational experience of the physician assistant students who care for them.

“Transitioning to electronic records is a crucial step for the H.O.P.E. Clinic,” said Jessica Gomes, an assistant professor and interpreter coordinator of the H.O.P.E. Clinic and the author of the grant. “We can provide more comprehensive and compassionate care to those who need it most. This change will enhance our efficiency, allowing our team to spend more time with patients rather than managing paperwork, streamline our administrative tasks and facilitate better communication among our healthcare providers and patients.”

For over a decade, the Rutgers physician assistant program has provided free primary care services in various locations throughout the state. The H.O.P.E. Clinic, which was opened in 2021, provides an essential service to a city where about 30% of residents are uninsured and 39% report not having a primary-care provider. The H.O.P.E. Clinic is one of an estimated 1,400 free and charitable clinics in the U.S. that serve about 1.7 million people annually, according to the .

The demand is rising. “In 2022, we saw 213 patients, in 2023 we saw 309 and this year, we have seen 312 so far,” said , director of the H.O.P.E. Clinic and an assistant professor in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies at Rutgers School of Health Professions. “The number of total patient visits grew from 413 in 2022 to 748 so far this year.”

The transition to electronic records is the latest initiative to improve patient care at the H.O.P.E. Clinic. Over the past two years, Quest Diagnostics with Rutgers Health to double patient capacity and to provide no-cost laboratory tests to diagnose and manage acute and chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.

“Being uninsured makes accessing health-related services challenging — and people who are uninsured disproportionately use emergency departments for the management of conditions that could easily be managed in the outpatient setting,” said Giannelli. “Based on the average one-time emergency department visit cost of $1,389, free clinics save emergency departments an estimated $9.6 billion each year. When companies like Athena partner with us, we are able to provide quality, dignified care and reduce barriers to care in uninsured populations.”