Health Information Exchange Crosses State Lines

Health Information Exchange (HIE) is a key part of EHR adoption and achieving the goals of the HITECH Act. The exchange must be secure and between authorized stakeholders in the healthcare community. The goals are to improve the delivery of patient care by removing the communication barriers between the stakeholders with a single sign on access to patient data. In March of 2010 the ONC awarded 56 grants through the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program. The funds have helped to rapidly lay a foundation of networks to exchange health information. You can find a directory of active Health Information Organizations (HIO) on the SMA Informatics web site.

The Ohio Health Information Partnership’s began connecting Ohio hospital systems in the summer of 2011. They structured a phased-in approach with their vendor Medcity which expanded connections to CliniSync. The Ohio statewide HIE is the first to have successfully exchanged health information between states. In December a direct message was sent and received between providers in Ohio and Mississippi.

The HIMSS 2012 annual conference this February in Las Vegas will have their Interoperability Showcase again this year. The leading HIE organizations and vendors will be there. The Showcase Theater promises over 50 presentations and a live exchange demonstration area. HIMSS also produces a directory of HIOs.

For more information on the health information exchange landscape, don’t miss Dr. David Kibbe Senior Advisor for AAFP and leading voice on Health Information Exchange joining us on MU Live! tomorrow.