Q&A: N.Y. HIE aims to increase access, data types
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What information is currently being exchanged?
HIXNY launched the exchange with hospitals, physician groups and payors to exchange patient demographics, allergies, medications, visit sit and purpose for visit, among other information. In the last several months, we have added including lab results, image reports, discharge summaries, departmental notes, immunizations, diagnoses and procedures.
Each month, we have more data contributors adding more data feeds and new elements. It is exciting to see the community of providers commit to this depth of collaboration.
In addition, HIXNY is connected to five labs with additional labs scheduled to participate in the first quarter of 2011. A number of other data providers are scheduled to join the HIE [in the coming] months, including the N.Y. state Medicaid program.
Is HIXNY a subscription-based exchange?
HIXNY members pay an annual assessment to the organization. Our membership includes health plans representing approximately 400,000 healthcare consumers; hospital systems with over 3,200 beds; physician practices representing approximately 500 physicians; healthcare associations; a university with a school of public health; a consumer advocacy group; and, a business group representing employers throughout the Capital Region and Northern New York.
There are currently several hundred providers who have user accounts to the HIXNY HIE and/or HIXNY e-RX [e-prescribing tool].
HIXNY also began a subscription services model since not all providers want to become members and part of the governance. For instance, small physician practices can sign up for HIE access and services rather than membership.
Does HIXNY enable exchange across multiple EMR systems?
HIXNY accepts data from various electronic medical record companies, including a number of the larger EMR companies, as well as smaller entities.
There are currently two ways to access information on the HIXNY HIE. First, through a secure web portal. The second is simply staying with a single EMR system. We are finding that users prefer staying within the EMR system, if they are utilizing one, so we are waiting for the EMR vendors to enable this process.
We are very excited because we anticipate that in a few weeks a couple of vendors will be able to launch this type of high-level integration.
HIXNY member hospitals and physician practices have been working diligently to increase the breadth and depth of data contribution to the HIE. In addition to this growing data contribution, our region is experiencing an expansion of the ways that clinicians access information to benefit patients and an expansion of provider-centric HIE services intended to augment their EMR systems.
HIXNY also has developed subscription services that will notify primary care providers and other interested physicians when their patients arrive at the emergency room or are admitted into the hospital. Coupled with the automatic delivery of the discharge summary, these prompts along with the clinical informationwill foster a more enabled environment for collaborative care and more importantly, better care for the patient.
What new types of information does HIXNY plan to exchange?
We are looking at moving beyond exchanging just image reports and including [images] as well as exchanging other data specific to long-term care, senior services, and home healthcare. In our efforts to make healthcare more efficient, we are also scoping out the exchange of administrative data to determine insurance eligibility and benefits so that patients’ insurance status could be easily determined at the point of care.
HIXNY is exploring opportunities on exchanging news types of information through our collaboration with our members and other partners, including InterSystems.