Health Information Exchange Paper

Healthcare providers and patients have since been allowed to securely access and share medical information electronically using the electronic health information exchange (HIE) system, thus improving quality care, safety, cost and swiftness.

Health Information Exchange (HIE) has become a major component in today’s healthcare. Health information exchange provides a secure way for providers to appropriately access and electronically share a patient’s medical information. Therefore, reducing duplicate testing, minimizing medication errors and providing a link among electronic health records (EHR) in order to provide quality healthcare.

The Health Information exchange really took off with the advent of computers and their ability to engage in communicating with one another. In 2006 the

Now, using the existing clinical software, health care provider can readily access the e-Health record system and download and contribute up-to-date information

Patient portals offer many functions to allow a patient or proxy access to healthcare information to help improve patient healthcare. Within the patient portal a patient can access a portion of their health record; such as “medical history, health issues, medication lists, test results, care plans, allergy list,” schedule appointments, view and pay bills online, request medication refills, fill out forms electronically, and upload clinical information (Sayles 331). In addition, there are other functions that Surae Lucie took advantage of to help get her mother’s health back on track that are recommended by the National Learning Consortium. She used proxy access to access her elderly mother’s record, and sent messages to her mother’s healthcare providers to get her mother’s medication dosage and

14. Capability to exchange key clinical information among providers of care and patient-authorized entities electronically

Once established many issues arise, for example, any outside doctors need to be approved prior to the veterans visit, and this creates, even more, problems because it was too much “red tape” on the process. The other issue was that Congress estimated that it was too costly. To replace the veteran's choice VA and Congress decided to implement “MyhealtheVet”, the program permits veterans to search a variety of methods to improve their health and gain a better understanding of their overall health status. The program provides veterans with a number of tools and resources to evaluate, monitor and access medical information from any location that internet is available. The program directly connects veterans to their health care providers to make sure that they are getting the best medical assistance possible. Sometimes, the only thing that the veteran needs is a prescription refill, before they have to wait for a doctor’s appointment just to do that, now using My HealtheVet they send a message directly to the doctor and he or she let the pharmacy know of the patient needs. The veterans can pick up the prescription at the pharmacy or the prescription can be mailed directly to their homes (United States Department of Veterans Affairs,

My name is Technical Sergeant Travis Sandlin, I am writing on behalf of my father and every veteran that utilizes VA hospitals. Through trial and error it has come to our attention that the existing method and management of patient records is ineffective, unorganized, and outdated. A well-designed automated system will benefit all involved. Many men and women depend on VA hospitals and the care provided by them. Therefor it is imperative that as an acting body of government the VA must evolve to continually provide accurate patient care for the United States veterans that selflessly risked their lives for our freedom. This proposal sets forth certain recommendations and guidance on how the Veteran Affairs can vastly improve the current

A Health Information Exchange, or HIE, is technology that enables the electronic movement of health-related information among health care providers and others. HIEs are an

An Electronic Health Record is a computerized form of a patient’s medical chart. These records allow information to be readily available to authorized providers during a patient’s encounter with the healthcare system. These systems do not only contain medical histories, current medications and insurance information, they also track patients’ diagnoses, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images and lab tests/results (source). The fundamental aspect of EHRs is that they are able to share a patient’s information quickly across service lines and even between different healthcare organizations. Information is at the fingertips of lab techs, primary care physicians, pharmacies, clinics, etc. The

Health Information Exchange is the electronic movement of healthcare information amongst organizations according to the national standards. HIE as it is widely known, serves the purpose of providing a safe, timely, and efficient way of accessing or retrieving patient clinical data. Health Information Exchange allows for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other vital healthcare professionals to have appropriate access and securely share vital medical information regarding patient care. Health Information Exchange has been in efforts of developing for over 20 years in the United States. In 1990 the Community Health Management Information Systems (CHMIS) program was formed by the Hartford Foundation to foster a development of a centralized data repository in seven different geographically defined communities. Many of the communities struggled in securing a cost-effective technology with interoperable data sources and gaining political support. In the mid-1990s a similar initiative began known as the Community Health Information Networks (CHINs) with the intention of sharing data between providers in a more cost-effective manner. In 2004, the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research Health Information Technology Portfolio was funded $166 million in grants and contracts to improve the quality and safety to support more patient-centered care. This was the beginning of the progress we have seen in HIE today. Health Information Exchange devolvement serves the purpose of improving

Health information technology (HIT) involves trading of health information in an electronic format to advance health care, reduce health expenditures, improve work efficiency, decrease medication errors, and make health care more accessible. Maintaining privacy and security of health information is crucial when technology is involved. Health information exchange plays an important role in improving the quality and delivery of health care and cost-effectiveness. “There is very little electronic information sharing among clinicians, hospitals, and other providers, despite considerable investments in health information technology (IT) over the past five years” (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2014, p. 1).

The Health information exchange or also known as HIE is the sending of healthcare-related data electronically to facilities, health information organizations and government agencies according to national standards. The goal is to be able to access and retrieve data more efficient, safer, and to improve the quality of care and patient safety and reduce healthcare costs.

Communication is the key to relating in all environments. When communication lines are broken, it makes take in jobs and personal relationship suffer. In medical environment communication is key in running hospital, nursing home and community care providers. With technology our communication has advanced because now we have electronic medical records. Electronic medical records are a way of providing the medical staff and insurance on the patient health information and insurance coverage. As stated by About.com, “This also provide the doctors away to for individual patients, access to good care becomes easier and safer when

“An electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users.” (healthit.gov) The EHR mandate was created “to share information with other health care providers and organizations – such as laboratories, specialists, medical imaging facilities, pharmacies, emergency facilities, and school and workplace clinics – so they contain information from all clinicians involved in a patient’s care.” ("Providers & Professionals | HealthIT.gov", n.d., p. 1) The process has proved to be quite challenging for providers. As an