How Health Data Sharing Impacts How Clinicians Care for Patients

The following is a guest article by Dr. Guillermo Diaz, Chief Medical Information Officer at Los Angeles Department of Health Services – Ambulatory Care Network, and Ali Modaressi, CEO at Los Angeles Network for Enhanced Services (LANES) When Alex was brought into L.A. General’s emergency room, the hospital’s care team documented a number of indicators that appeared to be related to a neurological issue. As part of their intake process, the team checked Alex’s (a pseudonym) medical history through the hospital’s health information organization and discovered the patient had recently undergone a cardiac surgery at a different hospital; their post-surgical issues had merely mimicked a neurological challenge. This discovery allowed the care team to quickly switch gears and administer accurate care from the appropriate experts, saving the patient from needless testing and waiting. This nimble response would not have been possible if L.A. General were not participating in data sharing. L.A. General, along with the entire Los Angeles County Department of Health Services which includes four hospitals and 24 free-standing outpatient centers, shares patient data bi-directionally with other health entities through its health information organization (HIO), also referred to as health information exchanges (HIEs), enabling its team to quickly access relevant information in compliance with HIPAA. This avoids the laborious process and delays associated with calling, faxing, a...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Analytics/Big Data Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Interoperability Ali Modaressi Ambulatory Care Network Data Sharing Dr. Guillermo Diaz HIEs LANES Los Angeles Department of Health Services Los Source Type: blogs