eHealthCT’s Medicaid health information exchange up and running for real patients

CT’s pilot Medicaid health information exchange (HIE) project is up and securely sharing patient information successfully. Affirmative consent is collected from patients and registered with the HIE. The system can accommodate, among other things, secure email, eReferrals, lab data exchange, radiology image viewing and should conform with meaningful use criteria. The project has taken years to develop; as an advocate I have been amazed at the enormous amount of work involved in what looks effortless to most of us. Successful, secure exchange of accurate health information is crucial to reforming, and even sustaining, our health care system – to collect data driving intelligent reform, to improve patient safety, to align incentives and reward value, and to “bend the cost curve”. Congratulations to all the collaborators – you get five minutes to rest on your laurels, then the rest of the state needs this system.
Ellen Andrews