HIE Rundown 8-6-15

HIE Weekly RundownHealth 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.

CEO Calls On Government to Take Steps to Overcome Health Information Blocking
Testifying before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP), DirectTrust (@DirectTrustorg) president and CEO David C. Kibbe, MD MBA, urged the federal government to take action to help overcome the problems impeding the sharing of health information between and among parties authorized to access electronic health data, commonly referred to as “information blocking.”

The New Services and Technology of The Network
On April 1, Arizona Health-e Connection (AzHeC) launched the new services and technology of Arizona’s statewide HIE that is now simply called The Network. These new services are designed to provide Arizona physicians with more complete patient information, enabling better care coordination and transitions of care. When AzHeC and Health Information Network of Arizona (HINAz) combined operations in early 2014, AzHeC looked at changes in the market and what would be required to meet the emerging needs of Arizona providers in the future. It was clear that change was needed quickly.

Stella Technology Announces Quality Data Evaluation Solution for Meaningful Clinical Data
Developed in partnership with HEALTHeLINK, the Western New York Clinical Information Exchange, Silicon Valley-based interoperability leader Stella Technology (@Stella_Incannounced the availability of its next-generation software product, Inspector of Quality Healthcare Data (iQHD). With iQHD, healthcare organizations can now measure the quality of their clinical data with a scalable and automated tool, quickly and efficiently.

P2POpen Network Exchanges 1.5 Million Medical Referrals
eClinicalWorks® (@eClinicalWorks), a leader in ambulatory healthcare IT solutions, announces its free, electronic health record (EHR) vendor-neutral network, P2POpen, has exchanged one and a half million referrals between medical providers utilizing a variety of systems. Total communications to date is two million referrals, consults and messages for this network that ensures healthcare providers can connect with each other for patient care regardless of what EHR system is in use or if the practice is using paper records. The company has taken an additional step by receiving full accreditation as a health information service provider, or HISP, from EHNAC-DirectTrust for eClinicalWorks’ eClinicalDirect.

New Jersey Innovation Institute Awarded $2.9 Million Federal Grant to Advance Health Information Technology Services to Support Health Information Exchange
The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), acting as New Jersey’s State-designated entity on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Health, has received a $2.9 million grant from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NJII will help the Department of Health ensure the sharing of quality data through its New Jersey Health Information Network (NJHIN).

eHealth Exchange Reaches 100 Members and Expects to Connect 40% of U.S. Hospitals by Year End; Also Increases Participation from Small and Mid-Sized Medical Groups
The eHealth Exchange (@eHealthExchangeannounced participation has expanded in the last six months, officially reaching 100 organizational participants. The eHealth Exchange achieved particularly significant gains in the number of medical groups and dialysis centers joining the largest nationwide health information exchange network. The growth experienced in early 2015 is also backed by a strong pipeline of organizations in the process of joining. Current projections for participation by year end include more than 40% of hospitals nationwide.