Health information exchange allows doctors to send patient records to hospitals
as well as staff working from home — quickly, confidentially and securely
With the COVID-19 global pandemic spreading across the country, a Florida firm has pioneered a new way for doctors to securely share all patient records electronically with their staff now working from home.
Tallahassee-based HIE Networks is working with physician offices to set up new secure, efficient lines of communication with their home-based employees. That allows doctors in the office to send patient records and communicate easily with staff – while ensuring everything is kept confidential and compliant with HIPAA.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic reaches its peak, we are helping healthcare providers transition their communications in the fastest and simplest way possible,” said Dr. Dan Kaelin, HIE Networks co-founder and Chief Medical Officer. “Getting accurate information to doctors quickly is critical during this unprecedented health crisis. It can be the difference between life and death for some patients.”
HIE Networks technology allows patient records from any source to be uploaded and aggregated into a secure, patient-specific portal, where medical teams and patients can access them in real time – across geographies and different types of electronic health record (EHR) systems.
“Different EHR systems don’t communicate easily with each other, so we build a bridge between all of these data sources,” Kaelin said. “This is even more important now that many key staff members are working from home.”
HIE Networks can set up secure lines between a home office and a doctor’s office within 30 minutes, helping to overcome some of their greatest challenges in healthcare communications right now. HIE Networks allows an easy transition from an in-office setting to home offices by:
- Digitizing faxes sent to the physician’s office and fully integrating them into the platform so no new fax lines are needed;
- Allowing doctors to receive and retrieve information more quickly and efficiently, saving time and money;
- Ensuring all communications between physicians, hospitals, patients and payors are secure and HIPPAA-compliant;
- Sending and receiving patient referrals remotely;
- Making it easier to audit, search and track records.
“The HIE Networks system is a game-changer for physicians and hospitals,” Dr. Kaelin said.
HIE Networks is one of Florida’s oldest local community health exchanges dedicated to providing interoperability between health care providers, something it has championed since 2005. Its cloud-based health care communication system is already being used in Tallahassee and Bradenton.
Co-founder Allen Byington said the system could be rolled out in all 67 counties in Florida in just weeks, and eventually could be implemented across the country.
“With the coronavirus exploding in communities and overwhelming hospitals nationwide, we need to help doctors and nurses on the front lines get the information they need now to stop the spread of this virus and save lives,’’ Byington said. “There has never been a greater need for easy, seamless communications in health care.”
