BURLINGTON, Vt. & SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL), operators of the Vermont Health Information Exchange (Vermont HIE), and Medicity, the leading provider of population health management solutions, today announced that VITL has launched its external connection to the Veterans Health Information Exchange (VHIE), also known as the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) program. This makes it easier for providers inside and outside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to share health information for the more than 48,600 veterans who live in Vermont.
The first external connection to the Vermont HIE, implemented by its technology vendor, Medicity, will allow clinicians at the VA to view patient records from contributing health care organizations across Vermont and the surrounding region. “As a psychologist working with veterans, I can’t overemphasize just how important it is to securely share information with colleagues outside of the VA,” said Kenneth Major, PsyD, a practicing psychologist at White River Junction VA Medical Center. “It’s important to have a complete picture of your patient’s care, no matter where they receive it.”
Likewise, health care providers in Vermont can view health data from the VA medical system using VITLAccess, the secure provider portal to the Vermont HIE. This bi-directional exchange of data can improve transitions of care between veterans and community health care facilities. Timely, accurate information may help reduce duplicative testing, lower costs and improve the quality of care for veterans.
This is the first network to network connection for VITL and the first Medicity connection with the Veterans HIE. “We’re excited about this bi-directional exchange with the VA medical system,” said John K. Evans, president and CEO of VITL. “Our organizations have been working for more than a year to put this community exchange in place, and we are proud to provide services that will help provide better care for our veterans within the Vermont health system.”
VITL selected Medicity as its technology partner in 2011 in an effort to meet its growing technology needs. Since then, Medicity and VITL have dramatically increased the number of Vermont health care organizations that are connected to the Vermont HIE. The Vermont HIE collects and indexes data directly from the electronic health record (EHR) systems of all of Vermont’s hospitals, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and 221 health care locations. The Vermont HIE delivers laboratory results and transcribed reports to the electronic health record systems of 134 health care locations, provides a secure provider portal to access longitudinal health records of more than two million patients, and sends data to Vermont’s accountable care organizations, the Vermont Department of Health and the Vermont Blueprint for Health.
“Medicity is proud to support our veterans and expand our population health technology solutions across the nation,” said Patrice Wolfe, Medicity CEO. “Our veterans can enjoy the benefits provided by the nationwide interoperability delivered through the Vermont HIE and VLER exchange program.”
About VITL
Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) is a nonprofit organization that advances health care reform in Vermont. VITL assists Vermont health care providers with adopting and using health information technology, to improve the quality of care delivery, to enhance patient safety and to reduce the cost of care. VITL is legislatively designated to operate the health information exchange (HIE) for Vermont, and is governed by a collaborative group of stakeholders including health plans, hospitals, physicians, other health care providers, state government, employers, and consumers. For more information, please visit www.vitl.net.
About Medicity
Medicity is a recognized expert in building large clinically connected communities. With nearly 20 years of experience in aggregating, readying and distributing data for population health, we’ve created a collaborative network that processes more than 6 billion clinical transactions each year. Our innovative solutions provide a powerful data foundation that enables your unique population health goals. Medicity’s intelligent integration of clinical information across the care community leads to enhanced clinical and business workflows, improved decision-making, more engaged providers and patients and better managed populations. Medicity, is an independent subsidiary of Aetna (NYSE: AET). For more information, visit www.medicity.com.
About the Veterans Health Information Exchange (VA)
VLER Health Exchange – allows VA providers and participating community providers to query and retrieve Veterans’ health information from each other’s organizations for the purpose of treatment. Partnered with the national eHealth Exchange managed by the Sequoia Project, we promote a common mission and purpose to improve patient care, streamline disability benefit claims, and improve public health reporting through secure, trusted and interoperable health information exchange.