Central Illinois Healthcare Leaders To Launch Health Information Exchange
Three hospital systems and three physician practices in central Illinois are moving forward with their plan to launch a secure digital exchange of patient information through their formation of the Lincoln Land Health Information Exchange (LLHIE).
The five voting members of the LLHIE are Blessing Health System of Quincy, and Hospital Sisters Health System, Memorial Health System, SIU HealthCare and Springfield Clinic, all based in Springfield. Prairie Cardiovascular of Springfield serves as a non-voting member of the health information exchange.
The founding organizations voted to establish the LLHIE as a limited liability company on August 4.
Health information exchanges allow healthcare providers - including hospitals, physicians' offices and outpatient clinics - to share patient information with each other in a secure electronic system.
By providing faster and more comprehensive access to data, health information exchanges can improve patient safety, reduce redundant tests and procedures, and improve public health monitoring, according to Dr. David Graham, chair of the Lincoln Land Health Information Exchange's board of managers.
The health information exchange will begin exchanging clinical information later this year. Instead of relying on the transmission of paper records about a patient's condition - including lab results, past medical history, medications and other test results - healthcare providers in the LLHIE will be able to electronically send and receive that information over a secure, protected network.
The LLHIE selected Medicity Inc., based in Salt Lake City, to provide the technology that will allow the secure exchange of medical data. In addition to Graham, who's with Memorial Health System, the LLHIE's board of managers are Bill Montgomery, vice chair, Hospital Sisters Health System; LeaAnn Eickelschulte, treasurer/secretary, Blessing Health System; Don Chenoweth, member, SIU HealthCare; and Jim Hewitt, member, Springfield Clinic.
The establishment of the health information exchange is the culmination of three years of planning activities by the founding healthcare organizations to provide a timely, accurate and more reliable exchange of clinical information. In July 2009, Illinois provided $176,000 in a health information exchange grant to the Mid-Illinois Medical District to assist the state in planning for health information exchanges across the state.
Through the grant, more than 50 clinical departments and 150 individuals across central and west central Illinois participated in a feasibility study to assess the current environment for paper and electronic communications between healthcare providers and identify opportunities for improvements in the reliability, efficiency and effectiveness of clinical information exchange.
SOURCE: Medicity