10 states partner for exchange during disasters
Health information exchanges in 10 states entered into an agreement to use the federally developed Direct clinical messaging protocol to help their members transmit and receive patient medical records in the event of a disaster.
Physicians in the participating states will be able to use the secure, HIPAA-compliant Direct system to message each other. HIEs in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin worked with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT on the Direct Project to create a secure way for physicians to access critical patient health information when those fleeing a disaster area can’t see their regular physician or go to their usual hospital.
In 2012, the Southeast Regional HIT-HIE Collaboration (SERCH) completed an analysis of barriers to HIE and issued recommendations for developing HIE infrastructure to support disaster preparedness and response. In its final report, SERCH recommended a phased approach to use existing data sources, such as health plans and state agencies, to overcome barriers to HIE across states.
“The SERCH effort will enable healthcare providers to contact a patient’s health plans and available healthcare providers for information about the patient’s medical history when it is most needed,” said Nicole Lurie, MD, assistant secretary for Preparedness and Response. “But patients can help protect their own information and that of their children by saving it electronically.”