Hospital to Fund Innovative Health Information Exchange (HIE)

Toward creating a digital medical community

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Danbury Hospital is undertaking a major step toward becoming a fully integrated digital medical community. The availability of patient data is of utmost importance to provide the highest quality of care, improve outcomes, and prevent unnecessary medical errors. Health information technology encompasses several parallel technologies to transmit and manage that data - the electronic medical record, the electronic health record, the personal health record, and finally and most importantly new clinical data exchanges called health information exchanges (HIE).

An Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is the electronic documentation of the patient encounter with a hospital, physician practice, or other health care provider.

An Electronic Health Record (EHR) consolidates patient electronic medical record data generated by encounters in the care delivery setting. The EHR includes information on patient demographics, provider notes problem list, allergies, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data, imaging, advance directives, and other relevant clinical information.

The Personal Health Record (PHR) is generated by an individual and or authorized representative. It is an electronic, universally available, lifelong resource of health information that can be incorporated electronically into the EHR. Individuals own and manage the information in the PHR, which comes both from health care providers, and the individual.

The Health Information Exchange (HIE) ties everything together. It provides a repository "hub" that connects all health information maintained by separate health care providers and makes it available to clinicians involved in the care of an individual. This will allow clinicians to share information electronically about patients.

The HIE will allow us to access all health information in the community and will add functionality at a minimal cost. The HIE will provide a true e-prescribe application, secure clinical messaging, ability to order labs and x-rays from any local facility, and finally an “EMR light.” The EMR light allows for electronic documentation via templates or dictation, and although it does not have the functionality of a full EMR it can serve as a bridge to a full EMR.

Typically health information exchanges are funded and managed by regional organizations. Initially our HIE will be managed and funded by Danbury Hospital contracting with an organization to provide the technology necessary for the HIE. We expect pilot projects to start in the next four to five months.

“Danbury Hospital is taking a giant leap toward our goal of becoming a fully integrated digital medical community,” said Eric Jimenez, MD, Project Manager for the HIE effort. “This work will place us in the forefront of medical information technology and will further advance our ability to deliver the highest quality care efficiently and seamlessly to the greater Danbury community.”