Healthcare Information Exchange
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.
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.
Collaborations
HIMSS & eHI
As the movement of health information exchange (HIE) initiatives and regional health information organizations (RHIOs) continues to grow in states and communities across the country in support of the Administration's focus on a "Nationwide Health Information Network" or "NHIN", the eHealth Initiative (eHI) and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) announced on September 13, 2006, a collaborative agreement that will strengthen this movement, offering complimentary education programs, tools and resources to state, regional and community leaders engaged in health information exchange and building RHIOs.
Please see the following for additional information:
HIMSS & Internet2
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and Internet2 announced a partnership between the two organizations to explore the development of a secure, reliable and advanced networking solution for the transmission of medical information, messages and images throughout the broad healthcare industry. The two organizations will leverage each other’s expertise to explore the viability of an independent and logically interconnected medical network in the United States. See our press release.
Contact:
Pam Matthews, Sr. Director, Healthcare Information Systems
Phone: (706) 838-0583
pmatthews@himss.org
Luke Middleton, Coordinator Healthcare Information Systems
Phone: (703) 837-9824
lmiddleton@himss.org
Latest News:
Public Health and HIEs: Trends for 2012
IE is both a noun and a verb: as a noun, HIE refers to a health information exchange network or health information organization that operates a network that enables interoperability between healthcare systems (either within a complex organization or between organizations).
Public Health and PHRs: Don't Be Left Out!
Public health agencies have a long-standing tradition of engaging with the citizens in their jurisdictions over matter relating to both individual and population health.
Engaging Consumers through HIEs
In 2012, one of the major priorities of the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and others across healthcare will be working to engage consumers with health IT (HIT).
