Health Information Exchange

hie OCHIN’s network members are connected via the Epic Care Everywhere network that connects hospitals nationally and through the emerging Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN) exchange. OCHIN is also building a national HIE capability that utilizes healthcare specific Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) and Health Level Seven International (HL7) standards-based information exchange. These solutions enable OCHIN to seamlessly integrate multiple systems including hospital registration systems, laboratory systems, immunization registries, and, via the NwHIN, to support information exchange with federal agencies. Using OCHIN, administrative and clinical staff can coordinate patient care across all settings giving care providers the knowledge to improve patient outcomes regardless of where patient treatment took place.

Some examples of OCHIN’s HIE initiatives include:

  • Integrated Personal Health Records give patients controlled access to the same medical records their doctors use and provides convenient self-service functions that increase satisfaction – required for meaningful use;
  • Link gives your community care centers secure, web-based access to information about patients, which helps care teams to coordinate patient treatment. Secure messaging functions also allow external physicians to offer electronic consults rending the entire referral process faster and more efficient;
  • Exchange Partners: OCHIN participates in community exchanges initiatives that are designed to empower provider communities and their connectivity and interconnectivity with each other and applicable government agencies;
  • Standards-based Gateways allow medical record systems from other caregivers to exchange Continuity of Care Documents (CCD) across the nation;
  • Standards based Interfaces: HL7′s messaging standard is the workhorse of electronic data exchange in the clinical domain and arguably the most widely implemented standard for healthcare in the world, which enables OCHIN users to exchange information including:
    • Patient demographics
    • Patient charges and accounting
    • Patient insurance and guarantor
    • Encounters including registration, admission, discharge and transfer
    • Orders for clinical service (tests, procedures, pharmacy, dietary and supplies)
    • Observation reporting including test results
    • Scheduling of patient appointments and resources
  • Nationwide Health Information Network(NwHIN) is a set of standards, services and policies that enable secure health information exchange over the Internet. OCHIN, through a federal contract with the Social Security Administration (SSA), provides “production” exchange of patient information in real-time that will be enhanced to ensure greater connectivity to multiple federal agencies and stakeholders including:
    • Social Security Administration
    • Center for Disease Control and Prevention
    • Department of Defense
    • Department of Veterans Affairs

Please contact info@ochin.org for more information.