HIMSS Health Information Exchange (HIE)
The terms “RHIO” and “Health Information Exchange” or “HIE” are often used interchangeably. RHIO (regional health information organization) is a group of organizations with a business stake in improving the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare delivery. RHIOs are the building blocks of the proposed National Health Information Network (NHIN) initiative proposed by David Brailer, MD, and his team at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT). To build a national network of interoperable health records, the effort must first develop at the local and state levels. The concept of NHIN requires extensive collaboration by a diverse set of stake holders. The challenges are many to achieve success for a health information exchange or a RHIO.
Information and data exchange is a critical to the delivery of quality patient care services and effectiveness of healthcare organizations. The benefits of appropriate sharing of health information among patients, physicians, and other authorized participants in the healthcare delivery value chain, are nearly universally understood and desired. Few organizations and systems have taken advantage of the full potential of the current state of the art in computer science and health informatics. Healthcare Information Exchange initiatives focus on the areas of technology, interoperability, standards utilization, harmonization, and business information systems while also supporting HIMSS activities focused on the national, state and local level.
Latest News:
Cincinnati, Detroit Selected as Final Health IT Pilot Communities under HHS Recovery Act Beacon Program
Today, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that Cincinnati and Detroit are the two final pilot communities selected under the new Beacon Community Program that is using health IT to help tackle leading health problems in communities across the country.
Standards: The HIE Conundrum
By Noam H. Arzt, PhD, FHIMSS
Legal Corner: HIE Participants Should Consider Special Rules for Insurance and Indemnification by Government Participants
By Allen Briskin and Gerry Hinkley, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
