IHIE News

PRESS RELEASE

Contact:
Jenny Siminski
Office: (317) 644-1724 Cell: (317) 213-5466
E-mail: jsiminski@ihie.org

Indiana Health Information Exchange releases annual report

Organization sees increase in users, progress in value-added service.

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (February 12, 2007) – The Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) today announced its 2007 annual report detailing milestones over the past year. As a provider of practical solutions to address the most difficult healthcare issues, IHIE remains one of the nation's most high-profile health information exchange efforts. The organization was launched in 2004.

"Over the past four years, the Indiana Health Information Exchange has been one of only a handful of health information exchanges that are successfully exchanging data among independent hospital systems," said Vincent C. Caponi, St. Vincent Health CEO and IHIE Board Chairman. "The organization's success has been the result of its trusted reputation and solid business services. Building on this foundation, the Indiana Health Information Exchange continues to drive efforts that align transparency, efficiency and quality to improve patient health."

In 2007, the Indiana Health Information Exchange:

• Saw the number of providers using its services jump 55 percent.
• Increased the number of hospitals in its network, which has expanded outside the central Indiana region to include northwest and southwest Indiana; currently 36 hospitals are part of the IHIE network.
• Continued to add functionality to the DOCS4DOCS service by feeding results directly into commonly-used electronic health record software. Users can also receive reports electronically or via fax.
• Distributed the first Quality Health First program reports to providers and health plans. The program now has over half of Indianapolis-area primary care physicians (approximately 1,000 physicians) participating in this innovative program.
• Continued collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and its efforts to promote value-driven healthcare through activities like the Quality Health First service and a $1.3 million Medicaid Transformation Grant.
• Hired key positions, including a Chief Medical Officer and key business strategy and development roles, to further support the growth of the organization.
• Expanded its board to include all major healthcare stakeholders, including physicians, providers, health plans, public health officials, employers and other community organizations.

"A diverse set of national healthcare stakeholders has worked collaboratively with the Indiana Health Information Exchange to implement practical, market-driven solutions," said David Johnson, BioCrossroads CEO and IHIE Board member. "The organization bridges the gap between paper-based and technology-based medicine without being intrusive or requiring complex software packages. This model is increasingly useful as patients expect more knowledge from clinicians about their current and past medical history to streamline their care."

The Indiana Health Information Exchange's DOCS4DOCS ® clinical messaging service delivers laboratory and other reports electronically. Over 30 percent of Indiana's population is covered by this service, which allows providers to securely receive results. The benefits include eliminating duplicate tests because of lost results, or results not getting to providers in time, and providing reports in a consistent format to increase the speed and safety of patient care.

The organization's clinical quality program, called Quality Health First (SM), provides physicians with reports containing actionable information about their patients based on clinical and claims data. These reports identify for physicians their patients who have chronic diseases and how well those patients are doing, along with providing alerts and reminders of when patients are due for screenings. This program is designed to support patients with conditions like diabetes, asthma and heart disease.

The IHIE 2007 report can be found here

About the Indiana Health Information Exchange
Indiana Health Information Exchange, Inc. (IHIE) is a non-profit corporation formed by the Regenstrief Institute, private hospitals, local and state health departments, BioCrossroads, the state's life sciences initiative, and other prominent organizations in Indiana. IHIE is the nation's most respected health information exchange organizations and one of the nation's only health information exchange organizations providing chronic disease and preventive health services (www.qualityhealthfirst.org). It is dedicated to supporting communities by providing services that enable the right medical information to get to the right provider at the right time to enhance patient care. To learn more, visit www.ihie.org.