When patients arrive at Sinai, Northwest or Saint Agnes hospitals, an electronic query is sent to the other organization requesting clinical information. Any clinical information that is electronically available is returned to the requesting hospital in less than three minutes.
This health information exchange (HIE) is the first example of a hospital-to-hospital exchange in Maryland. The exchange allows for the standards-based exchange of clinical summaries that were based upon the Continuity of Care Document (CCD). The solution is entirely built on HealthUnity's HIE software and Microsoft's NET platform and servers.
LifeBridge Health utilizes Cerner's PowerChart as its electronic medical record (EMR) platform, and Saint Agnes Hospital uses Meditech for its EMR. LifeBridge Health received a grant from CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield to fund this project.
"Our HIE project is a unique partnership between two leading providers and funded by a major payer. We demonstrated in a short period of time the interoperability between different information technologies used by two independent provider organizations," said Karen Barker, vice president and CIO for LifeBridge Health.
The system is completely automated allowing for standards-based clinical summary exchange to support continuity of care between providers without negatively impacting their workflow.
"HealthUnity has proven to be a capable and innovative partner helping us implement our HIE in an extremely short period of time," Barker continued.
"Reliable and secure electronic exchange of patient information among hospitals and physicians is recognized as a critical tool for improving the quality and safety of health care delivery. This solution allows us to start small and build on our successes," said William Greskovich, vice president and CIO for Saint Agnes Hospital.
"This is one more successful implementation of HealthUnity's HIE solution," said Prem Urali, CEO of HealthUnity Corp. "Having the best technology for building HIEs allows us to deploy large provider customers in the shortest possible time and in a cost-effective manner. We will continue to strive to meet the highest expectations of our customers. We are proud to be a key member of this exchange."
LifeBridge Health is a regional health organization that includes Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Northwest Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Jewish Convalescent & Nursing Home, and related subsidiaries and affiliates. For more information, visit www.LifeBridgeHealth.org.
