We are living in a digital age where everything can be done with a single tap of a button. This sophisticated technology has been used by many industries, including the health industry, to attain the best results in their practices. As health electronic data transfer is available, there is still a lot of medical information stored physically. Paper medical records can be a nuisance since they won’t sync within the systems of healthcare. It is easier to see the loopholes when planning the medications and treatments for the patients.
When medical professionals need to share this kind of information with their partners, they must require it from the patients. Then the professionals will either deliver the information to their partner, or request the patients to deliver the information themselves. As the process could be complicated, it could pose some problems in terms of delivery time. In such an urgent situation, it can be difficult to give the best service for the patients because of the delay in information delivery.
But it does not have to be a deadend. With the help of technology, health institutions and organizations can utilize the Health information exchange software of health information exchange. With the solutions provided by the best providers like CareAlign, the most relevant solutions can be beneficial for both consumers and medical providers.
Defining HIE-Health Information Exchange
The HIE-Health Information Exchange is the exchange of health data electronically among healthcare providers, clinicians, medical facilities, and patients. It is the opposite of the traditional paper medical records. The data in the HIE allows users to access, share, and manage medical information digitally. As we expect from digital technology, it is much safer, more secure, and faster.
Patient data in the HIE solutions can be varied depending on how many things the medical providers add based on the patients’ plans and history. But the most common variables in the HIE are past medical history, current medical treatments, lab results, lab orders, referrals, and many more.
The HIE solution is not a complete replacement of the communications between healthcare providers and their clients. But one can rely on the accuracy, safety, and speed of the information exchange, which is vital for the health industry. If the patient is in severe condition, the doctor and specialist will be able to make a quick and accurate decision based on the trustworthy health care data. In some cases, it can be a death or life situation. Therefore, the specialists will need to make great decisions to save their patients’ lives.
HIE is a movement. It is health information electronically shared between the authorized parties in the health industry. But of course, this activity is in accordance with the set of standards agreed upon by the stakeholders in order to stay on the same common grounds. The health information exchange is either regional, state, or national in level. In some cases, it can also be done at an international level.
In the US, HIE is also considered an organization of health besides the movement itself. When we refer to HIE as a noun, it can be defined as the particular organization in the US that provides the services and solutions for practicing safe and secure health information transfer at a regional, state, or national level. These organizations are working together with the communities to maintain secure and reliable electronic sharing in the health industry.
HIE Models
The specific infrastructure models to proceed with information exchanges would be chosen based on the institutions’ vision and mission.Each model has its own characteristics, obhectives, as well as takeaways.
Centralized HIE Model
In the centralized HIE model, the infrastructure enforces the synchronization of the data sources from different healthcare providers and organizations into one door. Or, we can say that this model is reliant on a single common data pool.
The organizations will fetch the aggregated clinical data, then they can respond to the queries from the providers. The centralized model has a great advantage in aggregating the information. It is easy to retrieve important information from multiple sources because the data is stored in one place. Therefore, it is regulated by a strong central authority with safe and regulated practices.
It can be an effective way to manage the population’s health data. There is a takeaway to consider, though. Since it is on such a large scale, it can be challenging to procure the health information exchange. The HIE authority could perform data analytics on the information. But the providers might receive unsatisfactory reports from the HIE. As we know, no two services are created equal. Some health providers might want to do some extra milestones.
A Decentralized HIE model
This infrastructure is different from the centralized HIE model. The decentralized model for health information exchange focuses on healthcare providers’ control over their own patient information. Therefore, the data is not sent to the single authority. Instead, the data will stay at the origin. When there are other organizations that want to access their data, they need to have an agreement. Only the authorized parties are able to access the data.
In terms of perks, it can secure the patient data, reduce the risks of errors and duplicate errors. Since it is not dependent on the centralized system, healthcare providers and patients have peace of mind that the data is safe. They don’t need to worry if the centralized structure collapses. They have the data at the source.
Since it is decentralized, the takeaway is the difficulties in the setup and connections with the other healthcare providers.
HIE hybrid model
It is a combination of the centralized and decentralized models. The hybrid structure contains the centralized data and locator services.
In this case, the healthcare organizations work together to make sure that the HIE can track the patients’ records across the participating providers. Hybrid models are good for care coordination on a smaller to larger scale. It is also possible that the providers use health management tools such as admission, discharge, alerts, and many more. Individuals can also perform clinical analytic independently without requiring permission from the data sources.
From the three models above, which one attracts you the most? Reach out to CareAlign now for the consultation.