Data Exchange Improves Care And Clinical Outcomes

By Karla Paris

e-MDs is the first to exchange provider data directly with the newly-created Kansas infectious disease registry.

Physicians face pressures from all directions – government regulations, complex insurance rules, higher patient expectations, increasing overhead, and decreasing reimbursements mean practices must be run efficiently.

To alleviate some of that pressure, Kansas Health Information Network (KHIN), a health information exchange organization (HIO), announced it has partnered with e-MDs to become the first to exchange provider data directly with the newly-created Kansas infectious disease registry.

The data exchange is possible through the deployment of e-MDs' EHR technology and assists the 31 Kansas healthcare organizations using e-MDs' EHR fulfill Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements. It also brings significant benefits to patients.

Complete, accurate documentation is one of the most critical issues for physicians purchasing an EHR. e-MDs Chart allows documentation at the point of care in an intuitive manner. Chart captures the narrative elements of an encounter in complete sentences while capturing the underlying structured elements that drive workflow, coding, and clinical quality. Medication order entry reduces errors, resulting in better patient care. Integrated evidence-based guidelines assist the physician in providing optimal care for chronic diseases, translating into better outcomes and higher patient satisfaction by providing:

• intuitive doctor-designed system
• faster ramp up time to full productivity
• readable, flowing documentation
• increased profitability and ROI
• streamlines and eliminates paper processes
• improves patient care
• risk reduction
• improved coding

The state of Kansas is known for operating one of the country's longest-running and most successful health information exchanges (HIEs). KHIN is a Kansas not for profit organization with founding members that include the Kansas Medical Society and the Kansas Hospital Association. It provides HIE services, including DIRECT messaging and query based exchange. KHIN also provides all Kansas patients a personal health record at no cost and serves as the transport layer for the Kansas public health registries. The organization has more than 950 member organizations representing hospitals, clinics, federally qualified health centers, community mental health centers, substance abuse providers, and others.

KHIN has filled the basic and critical need for care providers to electronically exchange and obtain health information such as what medications or procedures their patients have received in other facilities. This allows physician teams to provide safer care to their patients in a more efficient and effective manner.

SOURCE: PRNewswire