Health Information Exchange: What Is It, How Is Used, and What Are Its Benefits?
The healthcare industry is wrought with volatile information that must be delivered instantly from one platform to another as it could mean the difference between survival and demise. And that is precisely what HIE does for you.
What Is A Health Information Exchange?
As the name suggests, a Health Information Exchange (HIE) is a platform where medical providers and physicists can share, access, and modify medical information relevant to the patients appropriately and securely.
Backed up by FHIR-HL7 resources ensuring that the information retains its meaning while being transferred.
Currently, the sharing of medical information happens through the use of different medical software that may cause a communication gap based upon different APIs and medical jargon used, increasing the number of complex layers in the communication process, which increases the chances of an error.
And with the world finally reeling back from the effects of the pandemic, what if someone requires medical information on their travels outside or within the country. In such a case, you would need a singular data record and transfer system like the HIE.
There are a few types of HIE, stated as,
Directed Exchange Directed exchange is the exchange of information between providers to implement coordinated care.
Query Based Exchange A request-based system where providers or doctors can access information upon putting in a request.
Consumer Mediated Exchange CME- a system where patients have complete control over their health information by the providers.
Cases | Event Scenarios In The Case Of HIE Implementation |
Mass-Casualty occurrence | During a mass-casualty occurrence, the phone lines are bound to be swamped, and people would be unable to get the assistance they require. With HIE and a dedicated server with all people’s medical information, the process gets more streamlined, cutting down the time needed to conduct preliminary research. |
Disaster Response | Healthcare units scramble to find records of patients piling in due to a natural disaster to identify their medications, allergies, and existing conditions. The process would be just a search away due to the implementation of an HIE. |
Public health alerts: depending upon the patient level | In some emergency cases, by the time public health officials are notified, the patient might be in a great extent of the danger. The officials can be notified immediately with HIE, and relevant information can be acquired by incorporating EMR with HIE. |
Benefits of Health Information Exchange
An HIE helps healthcare providers facilitate coordinated patient care and minimize overall costs by avoiding costly mistakes. Here are a few added benefits you get with the use of HIE.
Error Mitigation HIE minimizes clinical errors with the help of cloud-based data storage, ensuring the safety of the patients.
Efficient Digitalization of data allows for fast transfer and more effective storage. It also removes the workload as there is no need for manual filing.
Cost Reduction With the availability of data digitally, the costs of providing adequate medical care are reduced manifolds.
Elimination of Testing HIE eliminates the need for redundant testing, lowering the costs and improving the quality of services. LIMS integration with EMR makes the transfer of data more seamless, eliminating the need for re-testing, and the intervention time decreases significantly.
Health Monitoring With the implementation of FHIR-HL7, data is simplified, making the exchange process seamless. That helps in improved health reporting and monitoring.
DevScripts Solutions is an IT Consultant Firm Specializing in Interoperability within the Healthcare Arena.
We are a small team solving big interoperability challenges on a daily basis. With our vast knowledge of interoperability we can integrate ourselves as part of your organization just like we are part of your full-time team. We develop a variety of custom interfaces for healthcare organizations such as Healthcare Vendors, HIEs, Health Systems, Hospitals, Medical Practices, Payors and ACOs using Mirth Connect.
We work with businesses in California, Georgia, New York, Florida, Texas and throughout the wider United States.
For more information on our services or to arrange a consultation call please contact us today.
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