Health Information Exchange (HIE) is happening every minute of every day. Your personal health information is moving and being viewed to improve the quality of your healthcare and lower the costs. The job will not be complete until all health records are digital and interoperable. Here’s what’s happening to make that reality.
News and Noted
Holland Square Group, An ALKU Company Joins Cerner, Technology and System Integration Leaders to Modernize Veterans’ Electronic Health Records
Holland Square Group (@HollandSquare), an ALKU company announced it is joining Cerner (@Cerner), a global leader in health care technology, and other industry leaders and innovators to help make seamless care available to the nation’s veterans. This newly formed team announced by Cerner will bring extensive experience in large enterprise systems and commercial sectors to modernize the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) electronic health record (EHR).
New Joint Commission advisory on accurate patient identification
Patient identification occurs every time a health care professional has a conversation with a patient and any time information about a patient is recorded or assessed. Because this process is universal, it is fraught with risk for wrong-patient errors that can lead to delays in treatment or providing treatment to the wrong patient. Preventing wrong patient errors is the focus of a new advisory from The Joint Commission (@TJCommission). Quick Safety, Issue 45: “People, processes, health IT and accurate patient identification” provides recommendations for health care professionals to consider when relying on human and/or technology factors to identify a patient.
Life Image Relaunches with New, Unified Interoperability Suite, Broader Market Focus, and Enhanced Ability to Manage Wide Range of Data and Imaging Content
Life Image (@lifeimageinc), the world’s largest global network for sharing clinical and imaging data that is powered by industry leading interoperability standards, announced its official relaunch. Specifically, the company unveiled its new unified Interoperability Suite, as well as expanded capabilities to better manage a range of medical data and solutions designed to meet the unique needs of all constituents in the healthcare ecosystem. This relaunch reflects the company’s evolution from solely focusing on image exchange to leveraging its large global network and interoperability expertise to enable the sharing of all clinical information, including medical images, across a patient’s journey.
New Tool Can Help Patients and Family Caregivers Get, Use, and Share Health Records
A diverse and powerful group of health information technology experts joined forces to develop a new digital health records request approach, released at the Biden Cancer Summit in Washington, D.C. Led by X4 Health (@x4_health), a purpose-driven organization founded by consumer advocates, the new prototype tool, called the “Health Record Request Wizard,” streamlines and simplifies the records request process and promotes digital formats. The effort was supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Fund.
DrChrono Launches Major Application Programming Interface (API) Upgrades Allowing Developers to Build Innovative Healthcare Apps on EHR Platform
DrChrono Inc. (@drchrono), the company enabling the medical practice of the future, announced new features and functionality to its free Application Programming Interface (API) allowing customers and developers to create applications that enhance the DrChrono platform as well as create third-party healthcare industry applications. Thousands of developers are registered on the DrChrono platform leveraging its API such as customers like Calyx Health who have development teams along with tech startups like Calibrater Health.
Listen
Tune in to Healthcare de Jure as we serve up the hottest healthcare issues of the day, all from a legal point of view. From public policies and Federal initiatives to privacy and security, join host Matt R. Fisher (@Matt_R_Fisher) as he and his guests discuss a smorgasbord of topics, giving hospitals, physicians, vendors and patients a seat at the table. In this episode Matt chats with Teresa Rivera, President and CEO, UHIN about value, the role of data clearinghouses and how health information exchanges support care coordination.
News From…
The Sequoia Project
The Sequoia Project (@SequoiaProject) was chartered to advance the implementation of secure, interoperable nationwide health information exchange. The ONC transitioned management of its eHealth Exchange to The Sequoia Project for maintenance. Since 2012, the Exchange has grown to become the largest health information exchange network in the country.
The National Coordinator for Health IT, Dr. Don Rucker, to Keynote The Sequoia Project’s Annual Meeting
The Sequoia Project announced its annual meeting will be held on October 25, 2018 at the Gaylord Hotel right outside of Washington D.C. in National Harbor, Maryland. The event will be headlined by Dr. Don Rucker, the National Coordinator for Health IT, who will provide insight into the state of health IT interoperability and health data sharing across the country.
The agenda and registration is already open on The Sequoia Project’s website. The eHealth Exchange Participant Meeting will be held immediately before The Sequoia Project on Wednesday, October 24, 2018. The Carequality Member Annual Meeting will be October 25th to October 26th, also in National Harbor, Maryland.
The Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative
SHIEC (@SHIEClive) is the National Trade Association for Health Information Exchange Organizations. It is routine for important data about patients’ ongoing care to reside in multiple unconnected organizations. SHIEC member HIEs use information technology and trusted relationships in their service areas to enable secure, authorized exchange of patient information among disparate providers. By providing enhanced access to all available and relevant patient data SHIEC HIE members aim to improve the quality, coordination, and cost-effectiveness of health care provided in their communities. Read their news feed.
SHIEC Announces Newly Elected Board, Recognizes Outstanding HIE Achievement with New Awards Program – SHIEC announced the newly elected board members. SHIEC’s board of directors includes 12 board members who serve three-year staggered terms. Three board members were re-elected this year, including: Dick Thompson, CEO, Quality Health Network; Teresa Rivera, CEO, Utah Health Information Network (UHIN); and Keith Hepp, chief financial officer and vice president of business development, The Health Collaborative. In addition, Dan Chavez, executive director, San Diego Health Connect joins the SHIEC board for a three-year term, replacing Deb Bass, retired CEO of Nebraska Health Information Initiative.
The CommonWell
CommonWell Health Alliance (@CommonWell) is devoted to the simple vision that health data should be available to individuals and providers regardless of where care occurs. Additionally, provider access to this data must be built-in health IT at a reasonable cost for use by a broad range of health care providers and the people they serve.
Resources
HealthDataAnswers.net
- We have moved our ONC news and updates to What’s Happening at the ONC series posts on alternate Fridays.
- Find more news and updates on State HIE organizations in our State HIE News and Updates series posts on alternate Fridays.
ONC Interoperability Pledge
Companies that provide 90 percent of electronic health records used by hospitals nationwide as well as the top five largest health care systems in the country have agreed to implement three core commitments: Consumer Access, No Blocking/Ensuring Transparency, and Standards. The ONC (@ONC_HealthIT) wants vendors to sign a pledge. Is your vendor pledging? Find out who is on the list.
eHealth Initiative Resource Center
Interoperability Files – Check out the new white paper resource in the eHealth Initiative’s (@eHealthDC) Resource Center: Big Data Analytics Best Practices: Understanding its capabilities and potential benefits for healthcare organizations