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Shared Health(R) Expands Comprehensive Health Technology Offerings to Hospitals

Posted on: Monday, 6 April 2009, 07:30 CDT

Proven, comprehensive technology offers secure data sharing, referring physician connectivity and clinical decision support tools

CHICAGO, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Shared Health(R), Inc. of Chattanooga, Tenn., one of the nation's largest public/private Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), announced today from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference & Exhibition that it will now offer its health information technology (IT) tools to hospital systems across the country.

This new offering expands Shared Health's HIE knowledge into hospital systems allowing them to connect to their community network of referring physicians, while offering the referring physicians capabilities such as ePrescribe, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), and clinical health records. Previously, Shared Health only offered its HIE capabilities to physicians through partnerships with payers, government entities and large, self-funded employers.

With the recent news that only 1.5 percent of U.S. hospitals have a comprehensive electronic-records system in place, this offering will help increase that adoption rate.

Shared Health's system is interoperable and compatible with all current systems and easy to implement, leveraging the hospital's existing technology capital.

"With hospitals suffering from the healthcare crisis and economic downturn, but still looking for ways to increase revenue and keep their doors open, Shared Health's hospital-based system will provide a new, cost-effective way of doing business within the community and nationwide," said Jana Skewes, chief executive officer of Shared Health. "Shared Health is poised to utilize its knowledge and experience in this industry to help bring the hospital-based systems to the forefront of technology adoption to provide better, cost-effective medical care."

The Shared Health hospital-based system aims to increase referrals to the hospital through immediate connectivity between all stakeholders. This provides no delays in obtaining vital patient information, especially in the emergency room, and integrates treatment guidelines into the data offering more standardized care and healthier patient outcomes. All while cutting staff administrative functions.

How it Works

Shared Health's technology connects the hospital's information systems to Shared Health's HIE and other provider locations as determined by the hospital, such as referring physicians practices. Once a patient is treated at the hospital, all health data including laboratory results, prescribed medications, radiology reports, physician notes and discharge information is automatically sent to the Shared Health HIE. Once the patient arrives at his/her physician's office, a Shared Health Clinical Health Record(R) (CHR) is available and accessible in real-time to the physician enabling informed decisions and an uninterrupted continuum of care for the patient.

Some physicians may already be using electronic medical record (EMR) technology. If so, Shared Health's system is fully compatible and merges the data into the existing system. For clinicians not currently using an EMR system, a Shared Health CHR(R) appears as an interface for patient data, also offering access to the Clinical Decision Support tools they the physician may not currently have or be able to afford.

The end result is integrated, uninterrupted health care for patients and more satisfied, collaborative physicians with two-way data.

Currently, Shared Health manages the data of more than 2.6 million patients, has more than 2,500 clinical users and has already shown a 17 percent improvement in efficiencies in clinical care. While many HIEs house, store and share data, Shared Health's HIE technology enables more than just data sharing. It offers physicians the ability to review, analyze and make important healthcare decisions with the data.

About Shared Health

Shared Health was launched in July 2005 with the mission to transform health care by offering secure, innovative health information technology (HIT) solutions. With the records of nearly three million patients in its HIE, Shared Health's web-based applications securely share and connect medical information across a patient's network of clinicians, including 2,500 physicians in Tennessee. Shared Health strives to be the clinician's trusted partner for sharing relevant patient information at the point of care, enabling both health care professionals and consumers to improve outcomes. For more information on Shared Health, visit www.sharedhealth.com.

SOURCE Shared Health

Source: PR Newswire

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