Georgia Health Information Network (GaHIN), Georgia’s statewide health information exchange (HIE), and Alabama’s One Health Record® today announced the success of an electronic connection between the two networks. This is the second state-to-state health information exchange (HIE) connection for GaHIN, which connected with the South Carolina HIE in 2014, and is one of only a few interstate connections in the nation.
“Healthcare doesn’t stop at the state line, so we need to ensure that physicians in both Georgia and Alabama have real-time access to patient health information at the point of care,” said Denise Hines, executive director of GaHIN. “Having medical history and pertinent patient information from the neighboring states can help improve care quality and save time by providing critical information at the point of care during non-urgent and emergency situations.”
The Georgia and Alabama HIEs both leverage a federated exchange architecture at the edge that does not necessitate the creation of new data warehouses or a single data location, but rather allows data to remain with the original providers and facilities until an authorized request for patient information is received. These HIEs are secure exchange networks that offer remote access to electronic health records, providing connectivity to help providers achieve Meaningful Use.
One Health Record created the infrastructure for exchanging health information in Alabama through a grant awarded to Medicaid in 2009 by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC). Under the guidance of the HIE Commission, Alabama has stood up an interoperable, two-way data exchange system between physicians, hospitals and others. One Health Record enables providers and hospitals to securely track and share patients’ medical histories, helping to facilitate coordinated patient care, reduce duplicative treatments and avoid costly errors.
Established in 2009, GaHIN has successfully connected members consisting of regional HIEs, hospital systems, physician groups and individual practitioners. The Georgia network currently has more than 18 million demographic patient records accessible to providers. GaHIN is connected to the national eHealth Exchange and is also a member of DirectTrust, which enables its members to securely exchange information nationally with other providers who are using Direct. GaHIN’s products, Georgia ConnectedCare and GeorgiaDirect, help its members achieve Meaningful Use Stages 1 and 2.
