CORHIO, the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization, announced that 12 new hospitals have been connected to the state's secure health information exchange (HIE) network. The hospitals are all operated by Centura Health, and serve hundreds of thousands of patients in Metro Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Summit County and Canon City (see also Electronic Medical Records).
'Connecting Centura Health's electronic health record to CORHIO's health information exchange allows us to improve health care value through better coordination of care,' said Dana Moore, Centura Health's senior vice president and chief information officer. 'By linking physicians, clinics, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home care services, we are ultimately touching more Coloradans and contributing collectively to sustaining the health of our state for generations to come.'
'Centura Health has been one of the leaders in a longtime, statewide effort to implement secure, cost-effective health information exchange as a community benefit for all,' explained Phyllis Albritton, CORHIO executive director. 'Together we are improving health care for all Coloradans by making sure the right information is in the right place at the right time for good decision-making by health care providers and the patients they serve.'
So far a total of 27 hospitals and close to 400 office-based physicians have committed to using the CORHIO HIE to improve care for their patients. New health care providers are signing up to participate in the CORHIO health information exchange every month and the most current list of participants is available at www.corhio.org/participating-providers.aspx.
The CORHIO HIE is a secure network that links physicians and other medical care providers throughout Colorado and provides access to patient information, including lab test and pathology results, x-ray, MRI and other imaging reports, and physician transcription reports. Later the network is scheduled to include patient medication lists, allergies and immunizations.
By participating in HIE, health care providers have more comprehensive patient information at their fingertips that is used to improve quality of care, eliminate costly, redundant testing and reduce treatment delays and hassles for patients related to paper medical records and reports. In emergency situations, such as a heart attack or car accident, fast and easy access to information from the HIE can be life-saving.
Keywords: Electronic Medical Records.
This article was prepared by Health & Medicine Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, Health & Medicine Week via NewsRx.com.
