WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — The Wright-Patterson Air Force Base 88th Medical Group is the first military medical center in Ohio to participate in a civilian Health Information Exchange program. This program provides real time patient information and improves communication with civilian providers.
Phasing in of the HIE initiative into the 88 MDG facility began in March 2015 by gradually introducing new capabilities for the clinical staff, providing real-time patient information.
Through collaboration with the Ohio Health Information Partnership, a Health Information Exchange and non-profit organization, patient records are kept current and, with physicians able to review patient encounters in a real-time environment. This data exchange allows physicians to coordinate patient care with outside civilian hospitals for the 58,000 patients care for at Wright-Patterson.
There are 157 hospitals currently participating in the HIE to include the Children’s Medical Center of Dayton, Premier Health Partners and the Kettering Health Network.
Bonita Moy, 88 MDG HIE liaison, said by utilizing the HIE, the 88 MDG eliminates duplication of efforts by improving communication with physicians and care coordination with civilian medical facilities.
“One benefit of the HIE is the ability to view a patient’s entire health record, known as the Community Health Record, in real time. Physicians can see a comprehensive view of a patient’s health during an office visit,” said Moy.
The CHR is a web-based record system that provides access to patient health data created in other facilities. The information includes patient’s treatment history, hospital encounters, allergies, medications, laboratory and radiology results.
Access to the CHR system is granted to clinical personnel working at the 88 MDG to include pediatrics, admissions and dispositions, utilization management, case management, in-house supervisors and the referral management center. The CHR can be retrieved through the Joint Legacy Viewer, streamlining access to patient information with a single log-on.
In addition to the benefits of seeing real-time record information, a service called Patient Notify, a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act certified secure messaging system, delivers a notification to the key members of the 88 MDG when a patient is either admitted or discharged from an outside facility or emergency room.
“It has been a long journey but through the use of the CHR, Patient Notify and the JLV tool, the 88 MDG is leading the Air Force in providing real-time patient information to the clinical staff, which ensures excellence of care to all patients,” said Moy.
