For Providers
What is an "HIE"?
A health information exchange (HIE) is technology that
allows healthcare information to pass electronically across
organizations within a particular region or community.
The goal of HIE is make sure that the information is
available when and where it is needed. STHL is the
regional health information organization (RHIO) that governs
the HIE in central NY, and currently serves a
six-county area – Broome, Tioga, Chenango, Delaware,
Cayuga, and Cortland, but will expand to
additional counties in the coming years.
Benefits of an HIE
The HIE offers better access to more comprehensive
patient records
and built-in analysis tools that can improve decision making
at the point of care, such as:
built in alerts that can reduce medical errors and avoid adverse
drug interactions
improved continuity of care, particularly with multiple
conditions and providers
availability of information in case of trauma or accident
away from home
improved communication across providers, particularly caring
for chronic conditions
Time an
patients miss fewer appointments because they are more
involved with managing their
own
coding guidance leads to increased billing accuracy
less time and money is spent filling out, shuffling and
storing paperwork
Patient Information
Patient information is deposited into the HIE by
hospitals, clinics, labs, and physician offices throughout
the region. When the HIE is launched in the Spring of
2010, the information available will include:
Patient demographics
Medical and family history
Visits
Clinical Documents
Diagnoses
Procedures
Allergies and Alerts
Medication – current & history
PACS imaging
While patient consent is not required for the depositing of
their medical record, a
patient must sign a consent form before their HIE records
can be shared (except in case of emergency). Patients can give consent, deny
consent, or remain undecided, in which case their
information can only be accessed in case of emergency.
The Consent Process
Patients will be offered a consent form and their consent
choice will be recorded during patient
registration.
Registration staff will be trained on the process and the types of
questions that patients typically ask. The consent form (in
paper or scanned) but
must be available for audit.
Costs
Practices that currently have electronic record
systems through vendors already connected to the HIE may
incur little or no cost to exchange information over the
HIE. Contact STHL to see if any enhancements would be
needed to do this. Financial assistance may be available to
practices that do not currently use electronic records or
use a vendor not yet connected to STHL.
Providers who do not have an electronic record system can still view patient information
via high speed
internet connection with no additional software required.
Contact STHL for details.

