Establishing trust for a successful HIE

Bob Mitchell, Editor, CMIO

A key component to achieving a successful health information exchange (HIE) is trust. Can the healthcare organization sharing data with one another trust that the patient data won’t be compromised? What are the security aspects of the HIE? Is the exchange of information being done in a secure manner that does not expose patient data?

In a recent report, “Old data learns new tricks: Managing patient privacy and security on a new data-sharing playground,” the Health Institute at PriceWaterhouseCoopers noted some startling issues around privacy and security related to increased access to information in EHRs; greater data collaboration with external partners and business associates; and, emerging uses for digital health information to improve the quality and cost of care. These are all directly related to establishing an HIE.

During a recent conversation and follow-up presentation at the Institute for Health Technology Transformation in New York City, Rebecca Weber, senior vice president and CIO at Meridian Health in Neptune, N.J., discussed the importance of privacy and security in achieving a successful HIE.

For Meridian, which formed its own HIE earlier this year, the challenges around privacy and security were addressed early in its pilot project. Meridian formed the HIE to connect six hospitals in two central-coastal N.J. counties. The decision to form an HIE was driven by the organization’s vision for integrating its facilities, improving patient outcomes and reducing costs.

The initial HIE pilot included 10 physician practices in New Jersey. Weber noted that just one month into the program eight of the pilot practices were using the HIE, and more than 60 physicians had requested authorization to exchange data with the HIE, provided by ICA CareAlign, and the physician office’s EMR.

Other recent HIE activities include the Health Information Network of Arizona (HINAz) creating a statewide HIE in Arizona. HINAz is building an HIE infrastructure for sharing and exchanging clinical data from all sources in the state, with an initial focus on providing information to emergency departments and urgent care centers so providers can access the patients' clinical information.

Also, the National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) conducted its second HIE Leader Roundtable on HIE successes on Sept. 28. Participants on the call included:

• Susan Stuard, Executive Director – Taconic Health Information Network and Community
• Keith Hepp, CEO - HealthBridge
• Michael Matthews, CEO - MedVirginia
• Robert Kolodner, MD, Executive VP and Chief Health Informatics Officer - Open Health Tools
• Brian Ahier, President - Gorge Health Connect

Please let me know how your HIE efforts are going. I can be reached at bmitchell@trimedmedia.com

Bob Mitchell