More Than 1,000 Office-Based Providers Now Connected to CORHIO’s HIE

With all of Colorado’s large hospitals committed to exchanging health information, more office-based providers are joining CORHIO’s network

Providers from all over Colorado are joining CORHIO’s Health Information Exchange (HIE) network to access patient clinical data from hospitals and labs. In addition to the 1,031 providers currently connected to the HIE, nearly 1,000 more are in the process of connecting. More than 71% of the office-based providers participating are physicians, though there are also Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, and Nurse Midwives also participating.

Projecting Rapid Growth

CORHIO’s initial strategy was to connect as many hospitals to the network as possible, then add on ambulatory providers. Starting with hospitals was due in large part to the massive amount of clinical data that each can contribute to the HIE on a daily basis. The more data available in the HIE, the more beneficial it is to other providers in the community. Hospital-generated data also helps community providers better coordinate care for the most vulnerable patients — those with recent hospitalizations. Now that CORHIO has 2.4 million unique patients in the HIE with 90 million clinical messages, and with the infrastructure of the HIE well-established, the timing is right for more office-based providers to join the network.

Other factors that will contribute to CORHIO’s network expansion are:

• EHR Interoperability – EHR systems’ interoperability capabilities are expanding, which will allow more providers to connect to the CORHIO HIE.
• Meaningful Use Incentive Programs – HIE-related requirements are effective with Stage 2, which begins in 2014. Providers connected to CORHIO will be in a better position to meet these requirements.
• Improved CCD Exchange Standards – EHRs are becoming better equipped to generate consumable Continuity of Care Documents, so office-based provider data will become part of patient longitudinal health history (or community health record) in the HIE. This creates more valuable bi-directional data exchange for office-based providers.

Two Ways to Receive Data

Office-based providers have two choices for HIE service when signing up to participate with CORHIO:

1. PatientCare 360® – patient data is available via a Web portal that allows providers to search for patients, but doesn’t have the option to import the data into an electronic health record.
2. EHR Integration – providers access the HIE through their electronic health record system so clinical data from hospitals and labs are integrated into the patient’s record.

At this time, 397 providers are using the PatientCare 360 Web portal access and 606 providers have opted for the full EHR integration (which includes Web access in addition).

For More Information

If you are interested in learning how your organization can join the CORHIO HIE network, please contact us at info@corhio.org or 720-285-3200. The connection process takes time, so we encourage you to begin early, especially if you are interested in attesting to Meaningful Use Stage 2.

To view a list of those providers, hospitals, and labs participating in the CORHIO HIE network, please visit our Participating Providers map.