Nationwide Children’s Hospital is the first hospital in Central Ohio to join the new statewide health information exchange (HIE) that will allow sharing of patient health information among medical professionals across the state.
Currently, 89 hospitals in Ohio now are contracted with the Ohio Health Information Partnership, the Hilliard-based nonprofit that manages the exchange – called CliniSync. Thirty-seven hospitals are now live on the network , and more than 1,200 physicians have signed up for services with 700 already receiving results and reports directly from their local hospitals.
"Our physicians will have access to lab and radiology results, as well as transcribed reports, from other partner hospitals via the Ohio Health Information Partnership portal in an expedient, accurate manner," said Denise Zabawski, vice president and chief information officer for Information Services at Nationwide Children's. "Our goal in joining the HIE is to improve the continuity of patient care and communication between healthcare providers and enhance the ability of our physicians to quickly access necessary information about patients in order to initiate care faster.”
Dan Paoletti, chief information officer of The Partnership, said he’s particularly excited that pediatricians and other clinicians who work directly with Nationwide Children’s Hospital will soon have access to real-time electronic information, rather than getting test results and reports through slower, antiquated methods such as faxing. Clinical information includes general laboratory, pathology, microbiology, blood blank results and transcribed reports, including radiology.
“The ability for hospitals and physicians to communicate electronically will streamline the delivery of critical results and reports, making the flow of information faster and even more accurate than on paper,” Paoletti said. “In the end, it comes down to patients and how the efficient exchange of health information will improve how different doctors can coordinate care for them in a more timely way.
“We’re excited Nationwide Children’s will be a leader in this transformation of health care in Central Ohio, connecting with so many of our rural and Appalachian physicians and hospitals that up until now, have not had the ability to electronically communicate,” Paoletti said.
Nationwide Children’s joins three other children’s hospitals in the network, including The Dayton Children’s Hospital, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies in Cleveland and Mercy Children’s Hospital in Toledo.
Nationwide Children’s has a medical staff of 1,100 and 10,000 employees who provide pediatric care with one million patient visits annually, including infants, children, adolescents and adults with congenital diseases. Ranked 7th of 12 hospitals on U.S. News & World Report’s 2012-2013 “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll,” it is not only a pediatric facility but also a research institute and the home of The Ohio State University College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics.
As a nonprofit currently federally funded through the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT, The Partnership assisted in ensuring that more than 6,400 primary care physicians receive preparation and training for selection of their electronic health record systems. Federal funding also covers the implementation of hospitals to the CliniSync HIE as well as software at no charge to physicians’ practices who want to connect to hospitals.
More About Nationwide Children’s
As one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit freestanding pediatric healthcare networks in the nation, Nationwide Children’s, ranked among the Top 10 on Parents magazine’s 2013 “Best Children’s Hospitals” list. The hospital completed the largest pediatric expansion construction project in U.S. history in June 2012, adding 2.1 million square feet of clinical, research and support facilities to total 5.3 million square feet on its main campus. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded freestanding pediatric research facilities. Nationwide Children’s remains true to the original mission since its founding in 1892 of providing care regardless of a family’s ability to pay. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.
More About the Ohio Health Information Partnership
The Ohio Health Information Partnership has received $44.8 million in federal funding through two federal grants. The Health Information Exchange grant of $14.9 million is for the creation of a technological infrastructure (CliniSync) that allows hospitals, physicians, clinicians, laboratories and others involved in a patient’s care to communicate electronically and share patient data. The second grant includes $29.4 million for regional extension centers (RECs) and $558,000 for 31 critical access and rural hospitals (CAHs) so at least 6,000 physicians can be assisted in the adoption of electronic health records. The Partnership’s founders include the Ohio State Medical Association, Ohio Osteopathic Association, Ohio Hospital Association, BioOhio and the State of Ohio. The Partnership is funded through the Office of the National Coordinator, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, grant numbers 90RC0012 and 90HT0024. More information can be found at the Ohio Health Information Partnership website at www.clinisync.org
Ohio Health Information Partnership contact:
Dottie Howe, Director of Communications
614-664-2605
dhowe@ohiponline.org