|
I want to share patient data easily – are Health Information Exchanges the answer? |
 |
| Imagine a familiar scenario – an emergency in one of your examination rooms; a new patient having chest pains and can't remember what medications he is on. Has your practice sent for all the medical records, and if so have they arrived yet? The benefits of pulling up the patient's complete health record, including patient history; medication lists, test results, and drug allergies are invaluable to the safety of your patient and for the effectiveness of your practice. Health Information Exchanges (HIE) offer the ability to connect physicians, hospitals, clinics, and other providers, and to share patient data easily. |
|
| The potential benefits are tangible: |
|
|
• | Fast access to information – vital in an emergency situation; emergency room physicians can easily pull up the health record. Additionally ambulatory providers can have quick access for patients that are on the move or visiting from another home. |
|
• | Reduction of redundant testing – patients may have multiple physicians and health care providers who do not have an efficient way of sharing test results. This can lead to unnecessary multiple testing for the same complaint. Fewer tests lower costs and decrease discomfort for the patient. |
|
• | An increase in patient safety – immediate access to patient allergies and current medications mean potential drug conflicts can be avoided. |
|
• | More complete patient records – The more information entered into an EHR, the more complete the record, helping medical staff avoid mistakes. |
|
• | Communication of disease alerts – an outbreak of flu or other diseases can be sent to Dr's in the HIE community, allowing them to take action in their medical practices. |
|
• | Tracking of medical information – trends in healthcare and treatment plans can be analyzed over time among communities of patients. |
|
• | Allows for cohesive community care – Community care models like Patient Centered Medical Home are taking medicine to the next level. HIE can help to empower physicians and patients alike. |
|
||
| Exchanging clinical information electronically is one of the 'core group' objectives in meeting meaningful use for government incentive money. The goal is to enable access of clinical data to provide safer and more efficient patient-centered care. | |
|
|
| HIE as a service is growing across communities and at state level. Some offer EHR systems and practice management services as part of the HIE functionality. Several EHR vendors are also offering programs to tie in information exchange among their users. | |
|
|
| Examine the meaningful use implications of EHR and HIE in our Whitepaper, Demonstrating EHR "Meaningful Use" › | |
|
|