Care Coordination Facilitated With Interoperability Platform
By Wendy Grafius, contributing writer
Implementation allows exchange of continuity of care documents, improvement in overall care delivery
By Wendy Grafius, contributing writer
Newton Medical Center, a participant in the Kansas Health Information Network (KHIN) with MEDITECH’s EHR, is now connected with ICA’s CareAlign interoperability platform. This collaboration will allow the exchange of continuity of care documents (CCDs) through Cross-Enterprise Document Sharing (XDS).
Located on a 78-acre campus in Newton, KS, Newton Medical Center is a 103-bed, nonprofit facility with medical clinics and an employee child care center. The full-service medical center has an active medical staff of 80 physicians and offers a Level II nursery, laser surgery, lens implantation, total joint replacement, short-stay surgery, lithotripsy, digital mammography, diagnostic nuclear medicine, and bone density scanning among other procedures. Accredited by the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP) the hospital serves residents in Harvey, Butler and northern Sedgwick counties.
A partnership of the Kansas Medical Society, Kansas Hospital Association, and the Wichita Health Information Exchange, KHIN connects healthcare facilities like Newton Medical Center and providers across the entire state of Kansas. Its goal is to achieve interoperable health information exchange (HIE) where 80 percent of healthcare providers are meaningful users of both health information technology and HIE. “The connection to the MEDITECH platform is a significant milestone for KHIN and demonstrates our successful transition from data testing to production by using the latest technology,” said Laura McCrary, executive director of KHIN. “This offers providers in our network access to critical patient information for improved information exchange and overall care delivery.”
KHIN’s success at Newton Medical Center in utilizing ICA’s CareAlign technology platform to connect with key providers like MEDITECH is a delivery of one of the first standards-based interoperability solutions in the country. Successfully tested by MEDITECH and some 25 other EHR vendors though ICAetc, which offers interoperability testing for the industry, ICA’s technology will allow the secure exchange of patient information to enhance the quality and reduce the cost of healthcare, as well as help achieve meaningful use. “Our successful connectivity with EHR providers, such as MEDITECH, emphasizes our commitment to providing healthcare organizations with the strategic interoperability support they need to deliver proactive, collaborative care in an efficient manner,” said Gary Zegiestowsky, president and CEO of ICA. “Through this connectivity, we are able to help our customers better manage entire patient populations as they continue providing personalized care to individual patients.”
SOURCE: Business Wire