Department of Defense approves HIE for Fort Drum, surrounding community

The Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization (FDRHPO), along with HealtheConnections and Fort Drum's Medical Department Activity (MEDDAC), has received approval from the Department of Defense for an electronic health information exchange (HIE) partnership with Fort Drum and the surrounding community.

Through the partnership, EHR records of soldiers and their families at the New York base, as well as the records of civilians will be available in HealtheConnections' HIE system. The system is also linked to the Department of Veterans Affairs, giving veterans in the area access to the database as well.

The partnership will prevent duplicates of medical procedures and testing. The system also includes a feature where providers receive alerts on a smartphone or through email when a patient is admitted to the emergency room or receives inpatient care.

"It is our core mission to integrate our community health system with Fort Drum, strengthening both systems for the betterment of the veterans, soldiers and their families that are an integral part of our community," said Corey M. Zeigler, FDRHPO's CIO. "This is the culmination of more than eight years of work, and since there is no care more personal than healthcare, we are very proud to provide high-quality, integrated care to our nation's finest."

"The electronic health record is proven to produce significant improvement in usability for our workforce, advance our ability to share information across systems of care and further enhance our ability to monitor and improve care," MEDDAC Commander Col. John A. McMurray said. "The HealtheConnections HIE will support our medical community in providing safe, high-quality healthcare and wellness to our service members, their families and veterans."