Health Information Exchange

Health information exchange (HIE) is the mobilization of healthcare information electronically across organizations within a state, region, community, or hospital system. HIE provides the capability to move clinical information electronically among disparate health care information systems while maintaining the meaning of the information being exchanged. The goal of HIE is to facilitate access to and retrieval of clinical data to enhance safe, timely, efficient, effective, equitable, and patient-centered care. HIE is also useful to Public Health authorities to assist in analyses of the health of the population. HIE systems facilitate physicians and clinicians meeting high standards of patient care through electronic participation in a patient's continuity of care with multiple providers. A secondary benefit for health care provider is the reduction of expenses associated with duplicate tests; time spent recovering missing patient information; the printing, scanning, and faxing of documents; the physical mailing of entire patient charts; and manual phone communication to verify the delivery of traditional communications, referrals, and test results.

The Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN) Shared Services is a public and private nonprofit collaboration dedicated to improving the healthcare experience, improving quality, and decreasing the cost for Michigan’s citizens by supporting the statewide exchange of health information and ensuring data is available at the point of care. The MiHIN Shared Services was created in December 2010 to administer the technical and business operations of Michigan’s State HIE Cooperative Agreement program created by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology. The MiHIN Shared Services is a collaboration among Michigan’s sub-state HIEs, insurer community, and state government.

To learn more about MiHIN, visit http://www.mihin.org/

Currently seven sub-state HIE's are active in the State of Michigan. Links to each can be found at: http://mihinss.net/hie_information.html

Southeast Michigan Beacon Community

The Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program is a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiative administered through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. It is designed to demonstrate how health IT investments and Meaningful Use of electronic health records can advance the vision of patient-centered care, while achieving the three-part aim of better health, better care and lower cost. The Program provides funding to communities that have already made inroads in the development and use of Health Information Technology (HIT) and HIE.

In addition to being a QO, the SEMBC is actively promoting the adoption and use of HIT and HIE to enable patient-centered care and clinical intervention strategies that promote improved diabetes care and self-management in Detroit, Highland Park, Hamtramck, Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. To learn more about SEMBC, visit: http://sembc.org/