State HIE News and Updates 9-28-18

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Posted By: Annmarie Budniak September 28, 2018

State Health Information Exchanges (HIE) come in all shapes and sizes but have one thing in common: To improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care delivered in their states. Catch all the latest updates on our Twitter List of HIEs. Here are updates being reported from these organizations.

Lessons from Florence: Set Up Advance HIE Connections

HealthLeaders reports that natural disasters, like Hurricane Florence, present challenges to health systems and providers not only in areas directly impacted, but also to those in neighboring regions who treat patients displaced by the catastrophe. One of the greatest issues: access to patient records. Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), play a critical role in making these records available. But there’s a catch. Electronic connections must be set up in advance by HIEs in the impacted areas and in locations where patients may migrate.

Health Information Exchanges Are the Hidden Heroes of Hurricane Season

Healthcare Analytics News reports that in the sprawling world of health tech, it’s easy for critical but understated technologies and initiatives to get lost in the hype. Health information exchanges (HIEs) fit that description, lacking the publicity power of brand-name wearables and the intrigue of artificial intelligence. But HIEs provide great resources to healthcare organizations and patients. And as Hurricane Florence begins to strike the U.S. and millions of evacuees spread across the Eastern Seaboard, the significance of HIEs becomes clearer than ever.

Supporting Communities Nationwide To Help Navigate Change

Every HIE has a different set of customers, unique governance, and a range of offered services. However, what is not unique is how they bring together data from disparate sources to create a unified health record, which acts as the underpinning of their value proposition. Recently at SHIEC 2018 Lynda Rowe, Senior Advisor at InterSystems, hosted a panel of senior executives from Texas, Missouri, Rhode Island, New York, and California who talked about how they are working together and with their members to prepare for the changes ahead.

Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange (GRAChIE)

The Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange serves healthcare organizations and providers across Georgia seamlessly bringing health information from one healthcare professional to another. GRAChIE provides health information in a secure, electronic format allowing healthcare professionals to appropriately access and securely share a patient’s health information electronically through EHR system.

GRAChIE Using eHealth Exchange to Mobilize Connection Points for Hurricane Florence Evacuees – The Sequioa Project reported that as the nation braced for the force of Hurricane Florence, the Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange (GRAChIE) was working to connect to eHealth Exchange participants in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida in preparation for displaced evacuees.

HealthSYNC of Louisiana

HealthSYNC of Louisiana (@HealthSYNCofLA) is a physician-led health information network delivered in partnership with the Louisiana State Medical Society (LSMS) offering a suite of health information technology tools to help health professionals across the state of Louisiana CONNECT. ANALYZE. ENGAGE. and TRANSFORM. the healthcare industry.

HealthSYNC of Louisiana Supports the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Goal to #killthefax

California – SacValley MedShare

SacValley MedShare (@svmshie) is a member of the California Association of Health Information Exchanges (CAHIE) and serves the 16-county region of California, north of Sacramento, which includes the North Central Valley and the surrounding mountainous terrain. Its region is largely rural and mountainous, with travel limited by climate and season in much of the area. Good communication is critical to coordinate care between primary care, specialists, hospital providers, and skilled nursing care facilities that fulfill a vital role in post-discharge care for many patients.

SacValley MedShare’s Newest Member, St. Joseph Health – SacValley MedShare welcomes its newest member St. Joseph Health’s Petaluma Valley Hospital, Queen of the Valley Medical Center and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital as a full data exchange partner.

healtheConnect Alaska

healtheConnect Alaska (@akehealth) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, organized and managed by Alaskans and tasked by the State of Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services, to provide safe, secure transport for health information in order to improve quality and safety of patient care and increase efficiencies for hospitals and medical practices. healtheConnect Alaska provides health information exchange and direct secure messaging services to more than 20 hospitals and 450 healthcare organizations across Alaska.

healtheConnect Alaska is Recruiting New Members for their Board of Directors – There are three vacant board seats with remaining 2018 terms to fulfill: Hospital Representative (ends 12/19); Tribal Representative (12/20); Federal Agency Representative (12/19). Nominees should be intimately familiar with needs & concerns of group whose seat they occupy.

Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NeHII)

Nebraska Health Information Initiative (@NeHIIorg) is leading the effort to create a secure, online, web-based Health Information Exchange designed to serve the state of Nebraska. Improved delivery of health care information and reduced health care costs are good for all citizens of Nebraska. The state has a proud tradition and reputation of providing the finest health care possible to its citizens. The HIE will help health care providers take health care to the next level.

Accurate Patient Matching Helps NeHII Become the Preferred Population Health Utility for Nebraska Providers – The Nebraska Health Information Initiative has taken a crucial step in becoming the source for population health data for Nebraska providers by deploying a strong patient identity matching strategy. Powered by patient identity matching technology and a unique patient identifier from 4medica, a clinical data exchange company, the strategy assures that only clean and complete data will make up the data sets NeHII works with for population health analytics and reporting, and participation in the Patient Centered Data Home initiative of the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative (SHIEC).

Maine – HealthInfoNet

HealthInfoNet (@hinfonet) is a Maine-based, independent nonprofit designated by the State of Maine to operate Maine’s statewide health information exchange. The HIE links medical information from separate health care sites to create a single electronic patient health record. This record is accessible to a patient’s authorized health care providers to support treatment. HealthInfoNet provides a secure, standardized electronic system where health care providers can share important patient information, giving them the tools they need to make more informed treatment decisions, especially in an emergency.

HealthInfoNet 2017 Impact Report

Health Share Exchange of Southeastern Pennsylvania (HSX)

PA-HSX-200HealthShare Exchange (@HealthShareExch) is the greater Philadelphia region’s health information exchange for the five-county Southeastern Pennsylvania region. HSX is a unique, membership-dues-supported nonprofit formed by the Delaware Valley’s hospitals/health systems and healthcare insurers that links the electronic medical record systems of different hospital health systems, medical centers, and clinics — and the claims data of healthcare insurers — to make this information accessible at inpatient and outpatient points of care, including medical practice offices.

Community Service Day: HSX Computerizes a Phila. Public School – The staff of HealthShare Exchange had another successful and gratifying community service day, this year, helping to install computers in a Philadelphia public school. On a warm August day, HSXers gathered at the Henry H. Houston Elementary School, located in the Mount Airy neighborhood of the city.

Wisconsin Statewide Health Information Network (WISHIN)

wi-shin-twitterIn October 2010 Wisconsin officially announced its intention to designate WISHIN (@WISHIN_Pulse), a not-for-profit organization formed by the Wisconsin Hospital Association, Wisconsin Medical Society, Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality, and Wisconsin Health Information Organization, as the State-designated entity to govern statewide HIE. DE on October 25, 2010. WISHIN is responsible for implementing Wisconsin’s Strategic and Operational Plan. The plan requires multi-stakeholder collaboration and emphasizes ongoing development of government and policy structures.

WISHIN Connections – Check out the latest edition of WISHIN Connections, WISHIN’s monthly newsletter. This edition welcomes new Pulse participants, provides updates on the HIE’s innovative partnership with PatientPing and announce this year’s keynote speaker for the Third Annual Wisconsin HIE Summit Jay Desai, co-founder and CEO of PatientPing.

New York -Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY)

NY-SHINY-200The SHIN-NY is the only HIE that provides universal access regardless of network or EHR system. New York State has made a significant investment in the SHIN-NY and in 2016 they set a goal of connecting 100% of the PPS across the state to the SHIN-NY. The eight RHIOs that make up the SHIN-NY are working directly with the PPS organizations to meet their needs.

Leading Healthcare Information Exchange (HIE), Hixny, Announces Expansion to Meet Physician Demand for More Reliable and Secure Patient Information – Hixny announced the addition of nine counties to its territory, committing a significant amount of funding over the next 18 months to connect local providers.

HealthlinkNY and HealtheConnections Announce Strategic Partnership to Strengthen HIE Technology and Services – In a joint announcement, HealthlinkNY (@healthlinkny) and HealtheConnections, two Qualified Entities (QEs) operating Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) that together cover 43% of New York State, said they have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate HIE use by providers. As a team, the two QEs will connect providers across much of New York State, from the northern border of New York City, through the Hudson Valley, and throughout the Southern Tier and Central New York to the Canadian border. The partnership is the result of months of collaboration following HealthlinkNY’s decision to seek a strategic partner in 2017.

HealtheConnection’s Company Growth and Development Prompts Move – HealtheConnections is pleased to announce its new office in historic Franklin Square. As an anchor tenant in Franklin Center, the firm occupies a beautifully renovated factory that was originally built in 1903 for the Clinton Knitting Company on lands referred to as the “old Salt Flats” in Syracuse. Formerly located in the State Tower Building on Warren Street in Syracuse, the regional health information technology and population health improvement firm relocated to allow more space to grow, a move that President and CEO Rob Hack sees as beneficial for the company and the community it serves. “It was important to stay a part of the vibrant resurgence in Syracuse,” Hack said, “and to be anchored in the middle of the Central New York region we serve. We wanted an employee-centric, interactive, and collaborative space that will support our continued growth and community partnerships.”

Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN)

MI-MiHIN-200The Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (@MiHIN) is Michigan’s initiative to continuously improve health care quality, efficiency, and patient safety by promoting secure, electronic exchange of health information through the MiHIN Health Information Services Cloud (HISC). MiHIN represents a growing network of public and private organizations working to overcome data sharing barriers, reduce costs, and ultimately advance the health of Michigan’s population.

MiHIN Puts the Care Back into Healthcare with Salesforce – Improving healthcare and reducing costs is on everyone’s minds these days. But how? Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN) is building connections between every healthcare provider in the state to help doctors better understand patient needs. The agency uses Salesforce to make it easier for the state’s healthcare professionals to get the information they need when they need it to eliminate inefficiencies and improve care.

Colorado Regional Health Information Exchange (CORHIO)

CORHIO200CORHIO (@CORHIO) manages one of the country’s largest and most successful health information exchange networks and works to improve healthcare through the use of information technology and data exchange.

CORHIO Collaborates with Wolters Kluwer to Drive Smarter Data Analytics Insights – CORHIO and Wolters Kluwer recently announced that they partnered to deploy Health Language Interoperability and Data Normalization Solutions to enable meaningful insights into big data for more advanced analytics and reporting. Read more about this story and other updates from the organization in their most recent monthly newsletter, CORHIO Connect.

Utah Health Information Network (UHIN)

UT-UHIN-200UHIN (@UHIN_HIE) has been in operation since 1993 beginning as a claims “post office.” Today it also operates the Clinical Health Information Exchange (cHIE), which empowers doctors and patients to work together for safer, better-coordinated care by making crucial information available to doctors at the point of care.

UHIN Newsletter | Fall 2018 – In this edition of UHIN’s bi-monthly newsletter, you’ll find helpful tips, the latest from Standards, what’s happening around the community, the newest offerings from UHIN, and much more!

Congratulations, UHIN President and CEO, Teresa Rivera

Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE)

IHIE-200Indiana Health Information Exchange (@IndianaHIE) operates the nation’s largest health information exchange, providing a secure, robust and interoperable health information technology network that connects over 150 hospitals, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centers, community health clinics and other healthcare providers.

IHIE is Hiring – Working for IHIE means working in an inclusive, balanced, and energetic environment that values both hard work and fun. The organization is looking for people who are adaptable and flexible between tasks, while upholding positive attitudes and ambitious spirits. IHIE offers an excellent benefits package including medical/dental/vision, 401(k) matching, 20 days PTO your first year plus 9 company paid holidays, a very casual work environment and dress code, and a dynamic, fun-loving company culture.

HIE Organizations Upcoming Events

calendarblueup-200

GLHC 2018 Summit Series (@GLHC_HIE)
What: 2018 Summit Series 
When: June 19, August 10, September 6, September 18, October 22, 2018
Where: Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia

GLHC is excited to present the 2018 Summit Series. The full day Summit events (2), accompanied by half day Seminar events (3) will be interactive, educational and will demonstrate why technology is part of the solution to providing the best care possible.

5th Annual South Dakota Health Link Fall Forum (@SDHealthLink)
What: 5th Annual South Dakota Health Link Fall Forum  
When: October 10, 2018
Where: Holiday Inn City Centre in Sioux Falls, SD

2018 UHIN Conference (@UHIN_HIE)
What: 2018 UHIN HIT Conference 
When: October 11, 2018
Where: SLCC Miller Campus, Sandy, UT

WISHIN’s Third Annual Wisconsin HIE Summit (@WISHIN_Pulse)
What: 2018 Wisconsin HIE Summit 
When: November 14, 2018
Where: Glacier Canyon Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells

2018 Health Current Summit & Trade Show (@AZHealthCurrent)
What: 2018 Summit & Trade Show 
When: December 3-4, 2018
Where: Glendale, AZ

 

Consult our Events Calendar for  a schedule of upcoming health IT events and webinars.