Delaware Health Information Network

Cape Gazette: Nanticoke Hospital First to Provide Link to Radiology Images on DHIN

Nanticoke Hospital is First to Provide Link to Radiology Images on DHIN

DOVER, DE – December 5, 2013 – Radiologists at Nanticoke Memorial Hospital have become the first in Delaware to include links to images in the reports they deliver through the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN).

With Vital Images, Inc.’s universal viewer, VitreaView, secure links to the actual images are embedded in the radiology written reports. Those links provide immediate access by the physicians providing follow-up care once the radiology report is signed.

“As a family practice doctor, I want to see the x-ray or scan myself so that I can better understand what’s there,” said Dr. Jan Lee, DHIN CEO. “Written reports are important; but, if there’s a questionable area on a scan or even a broken bone, I want to see it, show it to the patient, and decide for myself the best course of action. Now that is possible on radiology reports from Nanticoke and will pave the way for others to follow.”

This new offering comes after several months of planning and testing through cooperation with Nanticoke, Vital Images, Inc. and DHIN. Written radiology reports have been available through DHIN’s community health record since the health information exchange launched in 2007; but the actual image has had to be physically delivered or mailed to a physician’s office from the hospital. Physicians can now simply click on a link and the x-ray or image can be viewed directly on their computer screen.  This can be expanded in the future to include photographs which could be used for pre-hospital visit assessments, dermatology consults and to provide warning to the emergency department what is coming their way.

“I was very excited to be a part of the testing process for embedding links in the radiology reports at Nanticoke,” said Dr. Marie Wolfgang, an independent physician in Seaford.  “This allows me the ability to directly see what’s happening with my patients and show them the problem.  I have seen firsthand how it enhances my ability to provide real-time, coordinated care for my patients.  It’s an exciting development not just at Nanticoke but for patients throughout Delaware. This fills an important need and we have worked hard to bring it about. To be able to view the images as well as read the reports will be invaluable to treating physicians and will also provide an opportunity to show and discuss the images with patients.”

All acute care hospitals in the state of Delaware participate with DHIN as data senders. In addition to Delaware hospitals, most laboratory and medical imaging firms participate in DHIN, delivering their results through the network. Over 14 million deliveries of medical results and reports are made through DHIN each year, helping medical professionals provide better care more efficiently.  Nanticoke is the first to make radiology images available through DHIN.

“This was an important ‘first’ in Delaware,” said Erkan Akyuz, President and Chief Executive Officer at Vital Images, Inc. “It demonstrates how an image-enabled electronic health record can enhance healthcare by providing the tools physicians need to make informed timely decisions. In today’s world, we would expect nothing less.”

About DHIN

DHIN, the Delaware Health Information Network, is the first live, statewide health information network in the nation.  Launched in 2007, today it serves all of Delaware’s acute care hospitals and approaching 100% of the State’s medical providers.  More than 14,000,000 clinical results and reports are delivered through DHIN each year. There are a total of 1.6 million unique patients with results on DHIN including patients from all 50 states. For more information about DHIN visit www.DHIN.org or call 302-678-0220.  Please also visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@DHIN_hie).

About Nanticoke Memorial Hospital

Nanticoke Health Services includes Nanticoke Memorial Hospital, an award-winning community hospital in Seaford, and the Nanticoke Physician Network, with primary care and specialty physicians located throughout Sussex County Delaware and in Dorchester County Maryland.  Nanticoke Memorial Hospital is a Level III Trauma Center and has a nationally certified stroke program that is designated a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission; a recognized cardiology program; and comprehensive cancer care and orthopedic services.  Nanticoke’s medical staff includes over 120 active and community affiliate physicians practicing in 40 different specialties.

About Vital Images, Inc.

Vital Images, Inc., a Toshiba Medical Systems Group Company, is a leading provider of advanced visualization and analysis software for physicians and healthcare specialists. The company’s software provides users productivity and communication tools to improve patient care that can be accessed throughout the enterprise anytime, anywhere via the Web. For more information, visit www.vitalimages.com.

DHIN Launches Acute Care Alert System For Two Medicaid Managed Care Organizations

New System Sends Alerts For Hospital Encounters

Dover, DE, September 30, 2013 –The Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN), is now delivering daily hospital encounter notifications to a Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) to support its care coordination efforts in Delaware. DHIN, in partnership with Audacious Inquiry (Ai), an innovative management and technology consulting firm, successfully launched its Encounter Notification Service (ENS) on Friday, September 20. DHIN, founded in 1997, is one of the nation’s oldest and most successful statewide health information exchanges.

“DHIN is thrilled to meet our strategic goal of providing encounter notifications to our customers in Delaware,” said Mark Jacobs, CIO at DHIN. “This go-live marks the beginning of a longer term strategy to provide hospital encounter notifications to all payers and providers in Delaware.”

ENS, powered by Ai, delivers real-time, encrypted notifications to interested parties such as primary care practices, patient-centered medical homes, hospital readmission programs, and managed care organizations when patients under their care experience a hospital-based encounter. Today, providers and others with care coordination responsibility may not know when one of their patients is admitted to a hospital, or they may find out well after the hospital event. ENS supports hospital communication with primary care providers and care managers to promote care coordination, reduce readmissions, and prepare for new payment models.

ENS utilizes core infrastructure which many health information exchanges and hospital systems already operate—such as demographic feeds and master patient indexes—to support care coordination, reduce hospital readmissions, and drive revenue. In Maryland, ENS delivers notifications to more than 30 organizations, providing caregivers with actionable information on hundreds of patient encounters per day across 47 hospitals.

Ai developed ENS in response to demand from its statewide health information exchange customers, as a way of capitalizing on existing infrastructure to drive business value for HIE participants and help ensure HIE sustainability.

“ENS is the product of two basic insights we have gained in the last five years of work with HIEs,” said Scott Afzal, principal of Ai. “First is that the basic demographic feeds which many HIEs have established with facilities throughout their service area are undervalued and include lots of impactful information. Second is that patient matching—master data management—is one of the most important things an HIE does, if one does it well. The solution capitalizes on these insights to put actionable information in the hands of the right caregiver at exactly the right time.”

The cloud-based ENS solution allows for rapid deployment and time to value for both HIEs and their participants. It holds a clear value proposition for the following groups:

  • Hospitals – ENS helps hospitals regulatory compliance, such as CMS A-0133 which states, “The patient has the right to have a family member or representative of his or her choice and his or her own physician notified promptly of his or her admission to the hospital.”
  • Ambulatory providers – CMS recently approved two new transitional care management (TCM) CPT codes to reflect non face-to-face care management work involved in primary care. Reimbursements began on Jan 1st, 2013. According to AAFP, payments are estimated to total $600 million in 2013. Incentive payments under the new TCM codes range from $135-$231 per patient.
  • Insurance plans, managed care organizations and ACOs – ENS supports responsive case management, delivers up-to-date member contact information, and supports a range of quality initiatives.

About the DHIN

The Delaware Health Information Network was created by the Delaware General Assembly in 1997 as a public-private partnership for the benefit of all citizens of Delaware to establish a statewide health information network and to address Delaware’s needs for timely, reliable and relevant healthcare information. With all Delaware acute care hospitals and approaching 100% of providers now participating, DHIN is sharing real-time clinical information to improve patient outcomes, eliminate the duplication of service and reduce the cost of healthcare.

About Ai

Audacious Inquiry works as a strategic partner to government agencies, businesses, professional associations, and non-profits to maximize the positive outcomes and minimize the risks of initiatives at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and government. Our customer base includes state agencies and state-designated entities for health information exchange (HIE), federal agencies including the Departments of Health & Human Services, Interior and Agriculture, hospitals and large integrated delivery networks (IDNs), national payers, as well as private-sector clients in the financial services, healthcare, education, and non-profit sectors. Ai has been certified as a “B corporation” in the state of Maryland, only the fifth company in the state to do so; as a “B corporation”, the company meets comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards, agrees to meet higher legal accountability standards than ordinary companies, and is building a business constituency for good business.

Union Hospital of Elkton, Maryland Joins the Delaware Health Information Network

Access to health records expected to improve care for patients in two states

DOVER, DE – August 26, 2013 Union Hospital of Cecil County has agreed to become a full member of the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) as the second out-of-state hospital to participate in Delaware’s health information exchange. In a move designed to better serve patients whose medical care crosses the nearby Maryland/Delaware border, Union Hospital will be posting medical information about its Delaware patients to the DHIN database. This will provide a more complete community health record for Delaware residents who receive treatment there.

Physicians and surgeons at Union Hospital will also have access to the medical results and reports for their patients in the DHIN database. That will provide a broader picture of the care previously provided to Delaware patients that are treated at Union as well as for the Maryland patients who have received treatment in Delaware.

“The lines that define state borders have blurred greatly when it comes to health care,” said Dr. Jan Lee, DHIN Executive Director. “Patients are frequently referred to a physician or specialist across a state line. The inclusion of those medical results in the patient’s file – regardless of zip code – can raise the speed and efficiency with which a patient is treated, and can even save lives.”

According to Laurie Beyer, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at Union Hospital, the agreement comes in response to the large number of patients the hospital and its medical group serves from across the state border. “We are very pleased to be connected with the Delaware Health Information Network. A high percentage of the patients we treat at Union Hospital are from Delaware, and having the ability to view their health history will enable us to treat those patients much more effectively. It will also reduce the time and effort needed to field requests and fax or mail results to and from Delaware physicians for shared patients, which will result in better care,” she said.

Union Hospital is the second hospital in Maryland to join DHIN. In June, Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin became the first acute care hospital in the nation to join a Health Information Exchange (HIE) in another state. Additional hospitals from outside Delaware are expected to join DHIN in the coming months as well.

Through DHIN, UHCC physicians involved in the care of Delaware residents will be able to see all of the previously generated medical results for that patient on the DHIN network, including pathology, laboratory, and radiology results dating back as far as 2007. The physicians will also be able to use the system to receive laboratory results of tests that they order for their Delaware patients.

“The future of medical reporting is the seamless and secure exchange of health information across a borderless system,” said Dr. Lee. “It won’t all happen overnight, but we are making good progress by signing this important agreement.”

All acute care hospitals in the state of Delaware participate with DHIN as data senders. In addition to Delaware hospitals, many laboratory and medical imaging firms participate in DHIN, providing their results to the database. Over 11 million deliveries of medical results and reports are made through DHIN each year, helping medical professionals provide better care more efficiently.

About DHIN

DHIN, the Delaware Health Information Network, is the first live, statewide health information network in the nation. Launched in 2007, today it serves all of Delaware’s acute care hospitals and approaching 100% of the State’s medical providers. More than 11,000,000 clinical results and reports are posted on DHIN each year. Total patient records in the system now exceed 1.6 million including patients from all 50 states. For more information about DHIN visit www.DHIN.org or call 302-678-0220.  Please also visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@DHIN_hie).

About Union Hospital

Union Hospital is an award-winning, full-service community hospital located in Elkton, Maryland. Nationally recognized for clinical excellence in the treatment and prevention of disease, its 122-bed, not-for-profit facility is dedicated to providing superior, personalized, quality health care to its neighbors, families and friends. The Hospital’s mission is to enhance the health and well-being of residents in Cecil County and neighboring communities. Its services combine the latest technology with the warm, personal touch patients expect from a community hospital. Union Hospital has served the residents of Cecil County and the neighboring communities in Delaware and southern Pennsylvania since 1908. For more information, go to: https://www.uhcc.com

DHIN and Atlantic General Hospital Make History

Atlantic General Hospital is First Acute Care Hospital to Join Another State’s HIE

DOVER, DE – July 16, 2013 – In a move designed to better serve patients across the Delaware border, Atlantic General Hospital (AGH), based in Berlin, Md., made history this week when it joined the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN), becoming the first acute care hospital in the nation to join a Health Information Exchange (HIE) in another state.

According to AGH CFO Cheryl Nottingham, the step comes in response to the rising percentage of patients the hospital and its medical group serves from across the state border in Delaware.

“We’re very pleased to be connected with the Delaware Health Information Network. About 20 percent of the patients we treat in our emergency department are from Delaware, and having access to health information from Delaware hospitals affords another level of care that we can now provide to our patients,” she said.

Some of the patients treated by AGH come from emergency room visits made by people on vacation, while others are Delaware residents who choose to see doctors who practice at the AGH Health System.

“In just the six years since the launch of DHIN, the lines that define physical borders have blurred greatly when it comes to health care,” said Dr. Jan Lee, CEO of DHIN. “In some instances, patients become comfortable with a doctor, practice or hospital and develop a loyalty. Sometimes they are referred to a practitioner or specialist across a state line. Sometimes the patient or the doctor moves across the line. However it happens, the inclusion of those records in the patient’s file – regardless of zip code – can raise the speed and efficiency in which a patient is treated, and can even save lives.”

Through DHIN, AGH physicians involved in the care of Delaware residents will be able to see all of the previously generated medical results for that patient on the DHIN network, including pathology, laboratory, and radiology results dating back as far as 2007.  The physician will also be able to use the system to receive laboratory results of tests that they order for their Delaware patients.

“This is the future: the seamless and secure exchange of health information across a borderless system,” said Lee. “It won’t all happen overnight, but this is a very, very exciting milestone, and we are pleased that DHIN and AGH have been able to make history here today.”

More hospitals from outside Delaware are expected to join DHIN in the coming months.

About DHIN

DHIN, the Delaware Health Information Network, is the first live, statewide health information network in the nation.  Launched in 2007, today it serves all of Delaware’s acute care hospitals and approaching 100% of the State’s medical providers.  More than 10,000,000 clinical results and reports are posted on DHIN each year. Total patient records in the system now exceed 1.5 million including patients from all 50 states. For more information about DHIN visit www.DHIN.org or call 302-678-0220.  Please also visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@DHIN_hie).

About Atlantic General Hospital

Atlantic General Hospital has been providing quality healthcare to the residents of Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset (Md.) and Sussex (Del.) counties since May 1993.  Built by the commitment and generosity of a dedicated community, the hospital’s state-of-the-art facility in Berlin, Md., combines old-fashioned personal attention with the latest in technology and services. It provides quality specialty care such as weight loss surgery, orthopedics, and outpatient infusion for individuals with cancer or blood/autoimmune disorders, retina surgery and a comprehensive women’s diagnostic center. Atlantic General Health System, its network of more than 40 primary care providers and specialists, care for residents and visitors throughout the region.  For more information about Atlantic General Hospital, visit www.atlanticgeneral.org.

Nanticoke Memorial Hospital Goes Live on DHIN: DHIN Becomes the Nation’s First Statewide Health Information Exchange With 100% Acute Care Hospitals Delivering Results

DOVER, DE – JUNE 17, 2013 – In May, when Nanticoke Memorial Hospital (NMH) began posting its patient reports and test results to the Delaware Health Information Network, it was a “first” not only for the organization, but for the nation. With those first key strokes, DHIN became the first health information exchange in the country to have all acute care hospitals in its state delivering medical results to its statewide network.

“Reaching 100% acute care hospital participation in just six years is just a tremendous achievement for the healthcare community and people of Delaware. It is a great thrill to be the first in the country to reach this milestone,” said DHIN Executive Director, Dr. Jan Lee. “This provides a more complete and comprehensive community health record in Delaware, speeding care, saving potential duplication of efforts and, most importantly, helping to save lives. We appreciate how seriously Nanticoke Memorial Hospital took this project and applaud them in their efforts to complete the circle for the people of Delaware.”

Award-winning NMH, located in Seaford, Delaware, serves residents of Sussex County as a community hospital with a medical staff of 120 active and community affiliate physicians who provide care in nearly 40 specialties. The facility has a nationally certified stroke program that is designated a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission; a recognized cardiology program; comprehensive cancer care center and a Level III Trauma Center.

Participation of all six acute care hospitals will become even more powerful later this year when DHIN launches an alert system that advises the more than 2,400 practicing physicians in the state utilizing DHIN (nearly 100%) when a patient from their practice is admitted to or discharged from the hospital.

“This alert system will help doctors learn about their patients’ transitions in care and help hasten the speed at which follow-up care can be administered,” said Lee. “This will be tremendously beneficial for empowering primary care physicians with an important tool in directing the care of their patients.”

For more information about DHIN, visit www.dhin.org. While on the site, visitors are encouraged to register for a monthly newsletter that provides updates on programs, services and milestones.

About the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN)

The Delaware Health Information Network is the first live, statewide health information network in the nation.  Launched in 2007, today it serves all of Delaware’s acute care hospitals and approaching 100% of the State’s medical providers.* More than 9,000,000 clinical results and reports are posted on DHIN each year. Total patient records in the system now exceed 1.4 million including patients from all 50 states. For more information about DHIN visit www.DHIN.org or call 302-678-0220.  Please also visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@DHIN_hie).

Diagnostic Imaging Associates Connects Through DHIN: Imaging results are now immediately available to physicians and hospitals

DOVER, DE – May 14, 2013 – Diagnostic Imaging Associates (DIA), with locations throughout New Castle County, has begun sending radiology and other imaging reports to physicians through the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN).  Those reports are now instantly available so that patient treatment decisions can be made more quickly and efficiently.

 DIA joins most other laboratories and radiology firms and all acute care hospitals in Delaware in delivering patient information through DHIN. Nearly all of the medical practices in Delaware participate in what has become the most comprehensive statewide health information network in the nation. Together, Delaware’s hospitals, labs, radiology firms and DHIN are helping to expedite treatment that would otherwise take more time if practitioners had to wait for reports to be received through de-centralized, paper-based methods like standard mail, courier systems or fax.

 “While Diagnostic Imaging Associates has always strived to provide the best imaging services in Delaware, our main focus has been to meet the needs of our community. Faster access to medical records is an important way to do that,” said Joseph Peacock, MD, co-founder of DIA. “By joining DHIN, our medical reports will be added to the network for easy and timely access by health care providers who need that information.”

Founded in 1984, Diagnostic Imaging Associates began as two multi-modality imaging offices.  Nearly 30 years later, it has grown to encompass seven locations in New Castle County with 14 radiologists and more than 100 employees working with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.

“We are thrilled to welcome Diagnostic Imaging Associates to DHIN’s family of medical results providers. As a family practice physician, I really appreciate how quick access to important medical information is critical to helping patients,” said Dr. Jan Lee, Executive Director of DHIN. “Physicians can now access results from DIA within minutes of their completion and have that information available, as needed, safely and securely on the state’s electronic community health record.  Having real-time clinical results available on DHIN not only saves time and money, but also helps physicians improve care.”

 Since the fall of 2011, DHIN has more than doubled the number of data senders, growing from seven to 18. That number is expected to continue to keep growing throughout 2013.  Prior to September 2012, there were no radiology firms sending results in to DHIN and now there are five: Diagnostic Imaging Associates, Mid-Delaware Imaging, Ocean Medical, Papastavros Associates and Tristate Imaging Group.  DHIN renews it commitment to further enrich the types of medical information available to Delaware’s healthcare providers.

About Diagnostic Imaging Associates

Diagnostic Imaging Associates was founded in 1984 by local physicians, Joseph Peacock, MD and Ka-Khy Tze, MD. Nearly 30 years later, DIA has expanded to seven locations in New Castle County, with board-certified radiologists and subspecialists in fields that include neuroradiology, body MR, body CT musculoskeletal radiology, cardiac and vascular radiology, pediatric radiology, nuclear medicine, ultrasonography, mammography, and interventional radiology.  Additional information about Diagnostic Imaging Associates can be found at: https://www.diaxray.com

 About the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN)

The Delaware Health Information Network is the first live, statewide health information network in the nation.  Launched in 2007, today it serves all of Delaware’s acute care hospitals and approaching 100% of the State’s medical providers.* More than 10,000,000 clinical results and reports are posted on DHIN each year. Total patient records in the system now exceed 1.4 million including patients from all 50 states. For more information about DHIN visit www.DHIN.org or call 302-678-0220.  Please also visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@DHIN_hie).

 *Provider penetration calculation reflects the number of providers who make orders and are enrolled in DHIN (MD’s, OD’s, NP’s, PA’s and ED’s).  It does not include healthcare providers that do not make orders (e.g. Pathologists).  Total provider list compiled from multiple sources including the Medical Society of Delaware, University of Delaware, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware and the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation.

Ocean Medical Imaging Goes Online With DHIN: Imaging results from leading Sussex County radiology firm now available on First State’s Health Information Exchange

DOVER, DE – May 10, 2013 – Ocean Medical Imaging of Delaware has taken the next step in providing full service radiology care by teaming up with the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN), making patient reports electronically available so that treatment decisions can be made quickly and efficiently.

Ocean Medical Imaging, serving residents of central and southern Delaware from its offices in Milton, offers state of the art radiology services. However, until now, it had been forwarding its reports to physicians and hospitals through traditional means of facsimile, mail and through the physician portal. The connection to DHIN removes waiting time and streamlines results to a central and secure online location.

“As a patient-centered imaging center, we constantly work to simplify patient care for quicker treatment and faster diagnosis. Joining Delaware Health Information Network is one more step in providing our patients with a seamless medical record that is readily available to all their physicians, whether they are local, upstate or even out of state,” says Dr. Jonathan Patterson, Medical Director and owner of Ocean Medical Imaging. “It helps me to provide better care so we physicians can become even more efficient in treating patients.”

Ocean Medical Imaging joins most other laboratories and radiology firms and all acute care hospitals in Delaware in delivering patient information through DHIN. Nearly all of the medical practices in Delaware participate in what has become the most comprehensive statewide health information network in the nation. Together, Delaware’s hospitals, labs, radiology firms and DHIN are helping to expedite treatment that would otherwise take more time if practitioners had to wait for reports to be received through de-centralized, paper-based methods like standard mail, courier systems or fax.

“We are very pleased to welcome Ocean Medical Imaging to DHIN’s growing family of medical results providers. As a family practice physician, I know how quick access to diagnostic medical information is critical to treating patients,” said Dr. Jan Lee, Executive Director of DHIN. “Physicians can now access results from Ocean Medical Imaging within minutes of their completion and have that information available, as needed, safely and securely on the state’s electronic community health record. Having real-time clinical results available on DHIN not only saves time and money, but also helps physicians improve care.”

Since the fall of 2011, DHIN has more than doubled the number of data senders, growing from seven to 18. That number is expected to continue to keep growing throughout 2013. Prior to September 2012, there were no radiology firms participating in DHIN and now there are four: Papastavros Associates, Tristate Imaging Group, Mid-Delaware Imaging and Ocean Medical Imaging. DHIN renews its commitment to further enrich the types of medical information available to Delaware’s healthcare providers.

“At Ocean Medical Imaging, we see patients from every part of Delaware. Everyone that has an exam here loves the extra care we can provide. We pride ourselves in getting patients in quickly and now we can get the reports to their physicians just as quickly via the DHIN,” states Ocean Medical Business Manager Kristin Patterson. “The DHIN adds so much value to our services and is a safe and secure way for patients to have improved care by having their complete medical history in a single location.”

About Ocean Medical Imaging

Located in downtown Milton, Delaware, Ocean Medical Imaging is a full service radiology department that is also physician owned. Celebrating its 4th year in April, Ocean Medical Imaging provides world-class radiology services including a 1.5 T Full Field MRI, Low Dosage CT Scanner, Ultrasound, Digital Mammography, Biopsies, Bone Density (DEXA) and walk-in X-ray services. Dr. Patterson has been an integral part of the Delaware Physician Community for the past 17 years and has served as the President of the Delaware Radiology Society and this year was celebrated by being chosen as the Southern Delaware cover of Top Doc Delaware Today Magazine – an award he received by being voted #1 by his patients. For more information about Ocean Medical Imaging of Delaware, go to www.oceanmedicalimaging.net or call 302-684-5151.

About the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN)

The Delaware Health Information Network is the first live, statewide health information network in the nation. Launched in 2007, today it serves all of Delaware’s acute care hospitals and approaching 100% of the State’s medical providers.* More than 10,000,000 clinical results and reports are posted on DHIN each year. Total patient records in the system now exceed 1.4 million including patients from all 50 states. For more information about DHIN visit www.DHIN.org or call 302-678-0220.  Please also visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@DHIN_hie).

*Provider penetration calculation reflects the number of providers who make orders and are enrolled in DHIN (MD’s, OD’s, NP’s, PA’s and ED’s). It does not include healthcare providers that do not make orders (e.g. Pathologists). Total provider list compiled from multiple sources including the Medical Society of Delaware, University of Delaware, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware and the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation.

Delaware: An HIE Leader in ROI, Performance & Design

Despite an initial round of federal funding to develop state health information exchanges (HIEs) as part of Obamacare, these clearinghouses were challenged to develop a financially sustainable model. Because it addressed sustainability early, the Delaware Health Information Network is viewed by many as a template for HIE success.

Delaware recognized early on that being a pure exchange would not provide sufficient financial value for hospitals and healthcare providers, Michael Sims, CFO, told me when we met recently at the World Health Congress 2013. In fact, the state’s HIE needed to provide services that went far beyond data transport; it had to replace other costly service alternatives for providers so it would be a win for everyone.

DHIN must enroll and engage as many of the Delaware provider population as possible into the HIE. Enrollment meant providers could receive timely and accurate results, which could also be fed into their electronic health records — thereby optimizing patient care management in an extremely cost-effective way. The HIE planned to pursue volume and drive down the cost per transaction so low that it would be too attractive for physicians and practices to turn down. In fact, DHIN drove down the cost of each transaction to a mere 25 cents.

DHIN delivered value to the public and Delaware’s healthcare providers by creating a safe and secure data location, with 24×7 accessibility of medical test results and other important health information throughout the state. The organization also created easy to understand communications materials, held regular public meetings, and conducted communications campaigns.

In a follow-up conversation with me, Sims explained that he was fortunate to have acquired the skills to develop non-traditional financial sustainability models during his early experience with startups in the financial sector during the early part of his career.

Randy Farmer, director of provider relations and business development at DHIN, joined the conversation and gave me an overview of DHIN’s leadership. Sims and Farmer agreed that one key organizational value shared by the leadership team is “doing the right thing for the citizens of Delaware.” Another key value of DHIN is transparency: The HIE welcomes constructive criticism so it can continue fine-tuning and improving its model over time. In my opinion, these two values make a solid foundation for any organization.

In 2007, the Delaware HIE became the first statewide HIE in the country. The market penetration results are impressive: 100 percent of hospitals and long-term care/nursing facilities and almost 100 percent of physicians who make orders are connected to the HIE. The DHIN holds records of 1.4 million people from all 50 states. Growth has been geometric, with 1 percent adoption in 2007, and about 10 percent in 2008 — until the HIE reached the sustainability tipping point of 42 percent in 2009, Sims said.

Sims and Farmer cited an array of major cost reductions and health benefits, including a 33 percent reduction in high-cost, high-volume lab tests and a 30 percent reduction in radiology tests.

Recently, DHIN received a $2.48 million innovation grant from the federal government to develop a new model focused on better health and lower costs, the executives told me. DHIN is also reaching out to nearby hospitals in Maryland and looking for collaborative, mutually beneficial partnerships with nearby HIEs such as CRISP in Maryland.

DHIN features a community health record with six years of clinical health records. The Maryland HIE does not have this feature yet. I believe a longitudinal health data warehouse could be a vital resource for states and the nation to help improve public health and reduce healthcare costs. To solve privacy concerns, the data could be de-identified using stronger de-identification techniques that are currently being developed. HIEs could actually generate additional revenue by charging fees for sharing the data warehouse. HIEs could approach foundations interested in various causes to help defray the costs of these investments. It will be very interesting to follow how the DHIN success story continues to unfold. 

– Mansur Hasib has served in CIO/CISO and other leadership roles in the public, private, and education sectors.

Written by Mansur Hasib for Internet Evolution,
4/22/2013. https://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=1815&doc_id=262341

 

New System Will Alert Physicians of Patient Hospital Admission and Discharge

Dover, DE, April 2, 2013 – Audacious Inquiry (Ai), an innovative management and technology consulting firm, has entered into an agreement with the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN), to implement its Encounter Notification Service (ENS) throughout the state of Delaware, it was announced today.  DHIN, founded in 2007, is the first and most mature statewide health information exchange in the country.

“DHIN is thrilled to be partnering with Audacious Inquiry on this new and exciting alerts project,” said Dr. Jan Lee, Executive Director of the Delaware Health Information Network.  “This is a great example of how technology can help bring doctors closer to their patients, with real time alerts indicating when a patient has been admitted or discharged from a DHIN enrolled hospital.  Audacious Inquiry has demonstrated success with this type of functionality in other states and we are excited to have them support our efforts in Delaware.”

ENS delivers real-time, encrypted notifications to interested parties such as primary care practices, patient-centered medical homes, hospital readmission programs, and managed care organizations when patients under their care experience a hospital-based encounter.  Today, providers and others with care coordination responsibility may not know when one of their patients is admitted to a hospital, or they may find out well after the hospital event.  ENS supports hospital communication with primary care providers and care managers to promote care coordination, reduce readmissions, and prepare for new payment models.

“ENS is the product of two basic insights we have gained in the last five years of work with HIEs,” said Christopher Brandt, Founder and Managing Partner of Ai.  “First is that the basic demographic feeds which many HIEs have established with facilities throughout their service area are undervalued and include lots of impactful information.  Second is that patient matching—master data management—is one of the most important things an HIE does, if one does it well.  The solution capitalizes on these insights to put actionable information in the hands of the right caregiver at exactly the right time.”

Phase One Involves Two Hospitals

The first phase of this initiative is to pilot the concept for the DHIN and its stakeholders by delivering ED alerts from two Delaware hospitals to the two Delaware Medicaid managed care organizations. The second phase is to expand the list to include all Delaware hospitals as well as all Delaware payers and providers.  The alerts—which indicate in real-time that a patient has been discharged from the hospital—are expected to help streamline coordination of care among care management teams.

ENS utilizes core infrastructure which many health information exchanges and hospital systems already operate—such as demographic feeds and master patient indexes—to support care coordination, reduce hospital readmissions, and drive revenue.  In Maryland, ENS delivers notifications to more than 30 organizations, providing caregivers with actionable information on hundreds of patient encounters per day across 47 hospitals.

Ai developed ENS in response to demand from its statewide health information exchange customers, as a way of capitalizing on existing infrastructure to drive business value for HIE participants and help ensure HIE sustainability.

The cloud-based ENS solution allows for rapid deployment and time to value for both HIEs and their participants.  It holds a clear value proposition for the following groups:

  • Hospitals – ENS helps hospitals regulatory compliance, such as CMS A-0133 which states, “The patient has the right to have a family member or representative of his or her choice and his or her own physician notified promptly of his or her admission to the hospital.”
  • Ambulatory providers – CMS recently approved two new transitional care management (TCM) CPT codes to reflect non face-to-face care management work involved in primary care.  Reimbursements began on Jan 1st, 2013.  According to AAFP, payments are estimated to total $600 million in 2013.
  • Insurance plans, managed care organizations and ACOs – ENS supports responsive case management, delivers up-to-date member contact information, and supports a range of quality initiatives.

About the DHIN

The Delaware Health Information Network was created by the Delaware General Assembly in 1997 as a public-private partnership for the benefit of all citizens of Delaware to establish a statewide health information network and to address Delaware’s needs for timely, reliable and relevant healthcare information.  With all Delaware acute care hospitals and approaching 100%* of providers now participating, DHIN is sharing real-time clinical information to improve patient outcomes, eliminate the duplication of service and reduce the cost of healthcare. For more information about DHIN visit www.DHIN.org or call 302-678-0220.  Please also visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@DHIN_hie).

* Provider penetration calculation reflects number of providers who make orders and are enrolled in DHIN (MD’s, OD’s, NP’s, PA’s and ED’s).  Does not include healthcare care providers that do not make orders (e.g. Pathologists).  Total provider list compiled from multiple sources including the Medical Society of Delaware, University of Delaware, Delaware Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation.

About Ai

Audacious Inquiry works as a strategic partner to government agencies, businesses, professional associations, and non-profits to maximize the positive outcomes and minimize the risks of initiatives at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and government. Our customer base includes state agencies and state-designated entities for health information exchange (HIE), federal agencies including the Departments of Health & Human Services, Interior and Agriculture, hospitals and large integrated delivery networks (IDNs), national payers, as well as private-sector clients in the financial services, healthcare, education, and non-profit sectors.  Ai has been certified as a “B corporation” in the state of Maryland, only the fifth company in the state to do so; as a “B corporation”, the company meets comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards, agrees to meet higher legal accountability standards than ordinary companies, and is building a business constituency for good business. Additional information about Ai can be found at: www.ainq.com

 

Mid-Delaware Imaging Goes On-line: Imaging Results Immediately Available to Physicians and Hospitals through DHIN

DOVER, DE – March 22, 2013 – This week’s launch of Mid-Delaware Imaging (MDI) on the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) marks another milestone for the nation’s first and most mature state-wide health information exchange.  MDI began sending radiology reports to physicians through the DHIN this week and became the first Kent County based imaging center to join DHIN. Patient imaging reports are now immediately available through DHIN for physicians and hospitals treating those patients. The availability of the data is expected to greatly speed care and eliminate paperwork.

”We are very excited to have our radiology reports sent through DHIN,” said Vicki Parikh, MDI’s Practice Manager. “Better access helps physicians reduce valuable time spent locating reports that could otherwise be spent with patients.  DHIN also allows us to directly send results into the physicians’ electronic medical record systems which greatly increases efficiency for both MDI and the referring doctors.  With DHIN’s wide reach throughout Delaware, it accomplishes both objectives on a large scale.  Now, there are no faxes, no lost paper, and no need for additional phone calls to find records. It is really saving time in getting results for patients.”

Located on South Queen Street in Dover, Mid-Delaware Imaging has had a large practice in Kent County for over 20 years. It offers a full range of state-of-the-art imaging services including digital mammography, high field 1.5 T MRI and 64 Detector CT scans. Mid-Delaware is one of the few radiology services to offer Double-Read Mammography with two board-certified radiologists reading mammograms, which studies have indicated results in more accurate cancer detection.

“Having Mid-Delaware Imaging join the other major radiology, laboratory and diagnostic firms posting patient information on DHIN is an important improvement for patient care, especially in Kent County,” said Dr. Jan Lee, Executive Director of DHIN. “Physicians can now access those records within minutes of their completion and being provided to the network.  This helps to begin treatment more efficiently and quickly.  Having real-time clinical results not only saves time and money, but also helps physicians improve care.”

The Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) was established by the Delaware General Assembly as a public-private partnership for the benefit of all citizens of Delaware to advance the creation of a statewide health information network and to address Delaware’s needs for timely, reliable and relevant healthcare information. The Network was launched in 2007 and has grown to serve all of the State’s acute care hospitals and  approaching 100% of the State’s medical providers.

About Mid-Delaware Imaging

Mid-Delaware Imaging is a private outpatient diagnostic radiology facility that has been serving the community for over 20 years.  MDI offers state of the art radiologic care including a 64 Detector CT, Open MRI, High Field 1.5T MRI, Digital Mammography, Digital X-Ray, Ultrasound, Fluoroscopy, Bone Density Scans (DEXA), Nuclear Medicine, and Fluoro-guided Therapeutic Injections. Its mission is to provide high quality radiologic care to patients with the highest of technical standards in a warm and friendly environment. For more information on Mid-Delaware Imaging, visit www.mdicenter.net.

About the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN)

The Delaware Health Information Network is the first live, statewide health information network in the nation.  Launched in 2007, today it serves all of Delaware’s acute care hospitals and approaching 100% of the State’s medical providers.* More than 9,000,000 clinical results and reports are posted on DHIN each year. Total patient records in the system now exceed 1.4 million including patients from all 50 states. For more information about DHIN visit www.DHIN.org or call 302-678-0220.  Please also visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@DHIN_hie).

*Provider penetration calculation reflects the number of providers who make orders and are enrolled in DHIN (MD’s, OD’s, NP’s, PA’s and ED’s).  It does not include healthcare providers that do not make orders (e.g. Pathologists).  Total provider list compiled from multiple sources including the Medical Society of Delaware, University of Delaware, Delaware Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation.

Testimonials

“DHIN makes it very easy for us when a patient calls and says that they’ve had lab work or they’ve had imaging done, that we’re able to print that out and have that in their chart and reviewed prior to their appointment. So, it helps us out a lot in terms of time and convenience.”

– Wendy Silicato, First State Gastroenterology Association

Delaware Health Information Network - Empowering Data-Driven Decisions

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