A Look Inside Brooklyn Health Information Exchange (BHIX)

By Ken Congdon, editor in chief, Health IT Outcomes

An overview of the HIE (health information exchange) technology, processes, and benefits of one of New York's largest RHIOs (Regional Health Information Organizations).

BHIX (Brooklyn Health Information Exchange) is an RHIO aligned with the State Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY) that offers comprehensive services to support care coordination through an efficient and meaningful exchange of health information. The seeds for the BHIX project were planted in 2005, when the executive and clinical leaders of a consortium of hospitals, nursing homes, home health providers, and insurers in southwest Brooklyn started to discuss how they could improve patient care in their community by sharing patient data in a standardized way. At about the same time, New York State launched its HEAL NY (Healthcare Efficiency and Affordability Law for New Yorkers) program, which provided grant funds for the development of new healthcare programs and services. The consortium of health leaders in Brooklyn applied for a HEAL NY Phase 1 grant through Maimonides Medical Center (one of the leading facilities involved in the discussions) and received funding for the HIE project in 2006. In July 2007, the RHIO was incorporated as BHIX and received two additional HEAL NY grants.