TOPEKA, Kan. & NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kansas Health Information Network (KHIN) (www.khinonline.org) and ICA (www.icainformatics.com) announced today that KHIN has signed the 1000th provider to its statewide health information organization (HIO) in just four months. KHIN has been using ICA’s CareAlign® CareExchange and CareConnect since July of 2011 and has seen a rapid ramp up of users and participants in its statewide effort to connect physicians and patients in a broad rural and metropolitan area.
“KHIN’s original goal for physician participation was just 400 by the end of 2011,” said Laura McCrary Ed.D., Executive Director KHIN. “This momentum far exceeds our wildest dreams and speaks to the ease with which the solution is implemented and the nominal financial impact to these participants. KHIN is tying together hospitals, physicians and patients to improve care and reduce costs through effective, secure and auditable clinical communication.”
KHIN is a statewide HIE initiative that includes both densely populated urban as well as rural areas in Kansas. The CareAlign platform serves all of Kansas including 160 hospitals and over 7500 physicians. It also includes the Kansas Medical Society, Kansas Hospital Association, and the Wichita Health Information Exchange, making this effort one of the largest in the U.S. Also included in the exchange is KSWebIZ, the Kansas Immunization Registry, which is a web-based centralized birth-to-death database that maintains complete, accurate and secure immunization records for all Kansas residents.
Dr. McCrary continued, “The secure clinical communications offered by CareConnect has been one of the key drivers of provider enthusiasm for the KHIN exchange. As physicians join us, we hear again and again how this communications component is one of the features they regard as the easiest and most beneficial to the rapid deployment, sharing and use of clinical information resulting in improved patient care and reduced administrative costs.”
“The original clinical communications pilot included a small group of physicians and other eligible providers who worked with KHIN and ICA project management teams to pilot the secure clinical communications process,” said Gary Zegiestowsky, chief executive officer at ICA. “The success of this small working group ultimately led to the ballooning success we see today. Rapid deployment of the initial communications platform enabled physicians to meet Meaningful Use requirements quickly which in turn gained the confidence of other providers in the state and created the stampede to join what is rapidly becoming one of the most successful HIEs in the country.”
About The Kansas Health Information Network (KHIN)
KHIN’s mission is to improve health care quality, coordination and efficiency through the exchange of health information at the point of care utilizing a secure electronic network provided by a collaboration of health care organizations. KHIN is a provider led 501(c)3. It draws users from a broad geographical area and aligns with state data sources to support cost effective delivery of services. It supports and integrates with community and medical trading area efforts to drive care coordination and workflow changes creating a climate to encourage innovation. Its goals are to ensure providers, patients and communities have long-term access to cost effective, sustainable health information exchange aligned with costs distributed across a broad user base. It also encourages and removes barriers so communities and regions can focus on quality improvement, patient centered medical home and entrepreneurial strategies that effect local health outcomes.
About Informatics Corporation of America (ICA)
Informatics Corporation of America (ICA) was established to take innovative technology developed by Vanderbilt Medical Center to the broader healthcare market, and now delivers a comprehensive care management and HIE solution to hospitals, IDNs, communities and states. Unmatched in its ability to yield cost efficiency, improved patient care, and better outcomes, ICA’s CareAlign solution captures complete data to enhance the decision-making process. The CareAlign clinical intelligence engine empowers HIEs to leverage existing core systems and construct a longitudinal patient record. CareAlign also features provider/patient portals, secure clinical communication, NHIN compliant interoperability, EHR-lite and population management tools. Visit www.icainformatics.com; follow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/icainformatics; and Facebook: www.facebook.com