For Providers

What is an "HIE"?

A health information exchange (HIE) is technology that allows healthcare information to pass electronically across disparate organizations within a particular region or community. The goal of HIE is make sure that the information is available when and where it is needed. STHL is the Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) that governs the HIE in central NY, and currently serves a five-county area – Broome, Tioga, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego -- and will expand to additional counties in the coming years.

Benefits of an HIE

The HIE offers better access to more comprehensive patient records and built-in analysis tools that can improve decision making at the point of care, such as:

Built in alerts that can reduce medical errors and avoid adverse drug interactions
Improved continuity of care, particularly with multiple conditions and providers
Availability of information in case of trauma or accident away from home
Improved communication across providers, particularly in caring for patients with chronic conditions

Time and money can be saved when:

Patients miss fewer appointments because they are more involved with managing their
own healthcare
Coding guidance leads to increased billing accuracy
Less time and money is spent filling out, shuffling and storing paperwork

Current List of Patient Records Available in the HIE

Patient information is deposited into the HIE by hospitals, clinics, labs, and physician offices throughout the region. The information available includes:

Patient demographics	Medical and family history	Visits
Clinical Documents	Diagnoses	Procedures
Allergies and Alerts	Medication – current & history	PACS imaging

Patient Consent

While patient consent is not required for the depositing of their medical record, a patient must authorize consent before their HIE records can be shared (except in case of emergency). Patients can give consent, deny consent, or remain undecided, in which case their information can only be accessed in case of emergency. Only authorized users (physicians and office staff with a treatment relationship with the patient) can access patient information; the type of information available is determined by the role (clinical or administrative) of the user.

The Consent Process

Patients will be offered a STHL Consent Form and their consent choice will be recorded during patient registration at participating healthcare organizations. Registration staff will be trained on the process and the types of questions that patients typically ask. The consent form (hardcopy or scanned) must be available for audit.

Healthcare consumers can also set their consent choices over the internet via their STHL Patient Portal account.

Provider Access to the STHL Health Information Exchange

Providers with EHRs are encouraged to connect directly to the STHL HIE. This requires establishing a technical interface with STHL. Currently, Medent and NextGen EHR software is supported, with other EHR software interface in development. Contact STHL at or for more information.

All providers can access the HIE via the STHL Web Portal. This secure, web-based tool allows health care providers to access their patients’ HIE records with a few mouse clicks. Below are training and configuration resources for authorized health care providers. Contact STHL at or for more information.

STHL Web Portal demonstration
STHL Web Portal IT Configuration Guide
McKesson PACS viewer demonstration

All files are .wmv files and require the Windows Media Player to view.

Costs

Practices that currently have electronic record systems through vendors already connected to the HIE may incur little or no cost to exchange information over the HIE. Contact STHL to see if any enhancements would be needed to do this.

Providers who do not have an electronic record system can still view patient information on the STHL Web Portal via the internet with no additional software required. Contact STHL for details.

STHL Patient Portal

STHL began offering an HIE-populated personal healthcare record called the STHL Patient Portal to healthcare consumers in the region in June, 2011. The STHL Patient Portal requires registration and is accessible from a link on our website. Registered patients may view select personal healthcare records via Microsoft® HealthVaultTM.

For More Information

STHL is part of a statewide network called the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC). Their website provides further detail on a variety of EHR and Meaningful Use topics.

STHL periodically sponsors Meaningful Use Summits locally. To review the News article on the April 29, 2011 Summit go to Summit News. To view copies of presentations given at this and the Fall 2010 Summit, go to Summit Presentations.

Contact STHL at or for further information.

Last Updated: 8/9/2011