Former Beacon Community HIE Continues Shift To Independent Entity
By Wendy Grafius, contributing writer
San Diego Health Connect adds two healthcare systems, continue shift from federally funded initiative into an independent community-supported entity
By Wendy Grafius, contributing writer
Scripps Health and Sharp HealthCare, two of the San Diego area’s leading healthcare systems, have joined San Diego Health Connect, a nonprofit health information exchange (HIE). Signing agreements to direct the HIE, the health networks are joining an organization that has grown from a federally funded initiative into an independent community-supported entity designed to improve the health of the entire region.
Formerly known as San Diego Regional Health Information Exchange (SDRHIE), San Diego Health Connect began as a Beacon Community project, receiving grants from the Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). With the September 30, 2013, cessation of federal funding for the project, community healthcare organizations have assumed leadership and funding for the HIE. The addition of Scripps Health and Sharp HealthCare raises the number of potential patients served by the HIE from 800,000 to over 2.1 million.
“The commitments from Scripps and Sharp to collaborate in delivering healthcare services go a long way toward demonstrating that San Diego Health Connect has advanced successfully from a federally-funded, university-based initiative to a self-sustaining, community-funded not-for-profit organization with a greater reach,” said Daniel J. Chavez, executive director of San Diego Health Connect.
Scripps Health and Sharp HealthCare will connect their EHR systems with other HIE members, Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center, UC San Diego Health System, Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, VA San Diego Healthcare System, Family Health Centers of San Diego, and 14 Council of Community Clinics locations. “Sharing information about a patient at the point of care, with the patient’s consent, informs a physician’s decisions about testing and treatment, and it ultimately improves the quality of care,” said Chavez.
Using a Web portal to access a patient’s EHR, San Diego Health Connect members can coordinate care and follow-up, leading to better outcomes and decreased costs. Quick and easy access to previous test results, treatments, medications, hospitalizations, and other information is available regardless of which health system provided the care, especially helpful in emergency situations.
Ranked by Truven Health Analytics as one of the top 15 health systems in the nation, Scripps Health is a nonprofit integrated organization of four hospitals on five campuses, home health care, hospice care, and a multi-specialty network representing 60 medical and surgical specialties and offering care at 25 outpatient centers throughout the San Diego area. “I am enthused about the long-awaited availability and growth of a secure, efficient network for exchanging patient health records,” said Robin Brown Jr., CEO of Scripps Green Hospital and president of the HIE’s board of directors. “By participating in the San Diego HIE, we at Scripps Health will substantially increase our ability to see the full health picture for patients who visit multiple providers.”
Recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest presidential honor for quality and organizational performance excellence, Sharp HealthCare is a nonprofit San Diego-region healthcare delivery system composed of four acute care hospitals, three specialty hospitals, two affiliated medical groups, a health plan, and other facilities and services. “We look forward to collaborating with other providers to raise the quality of patient information that San Diego healthcare professionals can access,” said Daniel Gross, RN, DNSc, executive VP of hospital operations for Sharp HealthCare and HIE board member. “The HIE allows data to be shared in common formats, overcoming interoperability challenges, and offers an aggregated view of treatment.”
SOURCE: PR Newswire
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