Health information exchanges (HIEs) no doubt boast many advantages and benefits, including improved care coordination, elimination of paperwork and duplicative testing, reduction of medical errors and overall time savings. Dampening the optimism, however, is the nagging issue of sustainability. 

DALLAS, Aug. 28, 2013 -- The Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today announced nearly $1.3 million in grants to fund projects that advance the interoperability of electronic health records with the Commonwealth's health information exchange, called the Mass HIway.  Aprima Medical Software is pleased to announce that it was one of the grant recipients for the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI).

PISCATAWAY, N.J., Aug. 26, 2013 -- IGI Health, a provider of collaborative healthcare IT and reporting solutions, today announced it has achieved full accreditation with the Outsourced Services Accreditation Program (OSAP) for Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) from the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC). EHNAC's OSAP accreditation recognizes excellence in health data processing and transactions, and ensures compliance with industry-established standards and HIPAA regulations. Through OSAP accreditation, other EHNAC candidates who use IGI Health will not have to pay for additional site visits to the organization.

Missouri Health Connection (MHC), a statewide health information exchange, announced its grand opening on Aug. 21. MHC provides services to more than 7,000 patients, linking 62 hospitals and more than 350 clinics in Missouri and neighboring states.

TORONTO, Aug. 21, 2013 - NexJ Systems Inc., (TSX: NXJ) a provider of cloud-based software, delivering enterprise solutions for the financial services, insurance, and healthcare industries today announced the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative has awarded NexJ a grant to advance the value of the Commonwealth's health information exchange (HIE), called the Massachusetts Health Information Highway (Mass HIway) through direct engagement by the patient.

DETROIT, Aug. 21, 2013 -- The Southeast Michigan Beacon Community (SEMBC) today announced that it has named Quest Diagnostics its first provider of diagnostic information services for BeaconLink2Health, SEMBC's Health Information Exchange (HIE). Under the agreement, clinical laboratory test results from Quest Diagnostics will now be accessible through the electronic health records of physicians and other health care providers participating in BeaconLink2Health.

DULUTH, Minn.-- Community Health Information Collaborative (CHIC), Minnesota’s state-certified Health Information Organization, is pleased to announce a partnership with Orion Health. CHIC has selected Orion Health technology to power HIE-Bridge, Minnesota’s state-certified health information exchange (HIE) that allows providers to locate and access key clinical information that is vital when making medical decisions. Through HIE-Bridge, health providers across Minnesota have access to authorized patient information through a secure web-based information exchange platform. CHIC’s overall objective of partnering with Orion Health is to enhance clinical care coordination between all healthcare organizations and eligible providers to improve patient outcomes, save patient and provider time, and to conserve precious healthcare dollars.

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (ENHAC) and the Kantara Initiative (Kantara) are teaming up to further industry adoption of trusted information sharing and identity systems in healthcare, according to an Aug. 20 announcement. Their shared goal is minimizing the development of silos in non-standard and unrelated identity vetting processes and documentation.