Lourdes Hospital Exchanges Clinical Data with Kentucky's Health Information Exchange (KHIE)...

Lourdes Hospital has become one of the first hospitals in Kentucky to exchange clinical data with Kentucky’s Health Information Exchange or KHIE.  Sharing or exchanging key clinical information is one of the primary goals of healthcare reform.  By connecting to the KHIE, Lourdes demonstrates its continued commitment to patient safety and to providing the highest quality care possible.  “Providing timely clinical data to the right people at the right time can dramatically help to ensure positive outcomes, especially for patients who may not be able to provide that information in their time of need,” says Andy Adams, Director of Relationship Management for Lourdes Hospital.

The Kentucky HIE was created in response to an August 2009 executive order from Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear to help ensure interoperability or the ability to share data across various health systems.  Secretary Janie Miller of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) executed an administrative order on Feb. 23, 2010 officially creating the Kentucky Health Information Exchange Coordinating Council and six specialty sub-committees.  “By participating on the Provider Adoption and Meaningful Use Committee, I was able to really get in on the ground floor of the development of the KHIE and to get an appreciation of what it can do for caregivers,” states Mr. Adams.

By connecting to the KHIE and with the patient’s consent, Lourdes Hospital can send and receive a variety of information about a patient’s prior care.  Key clinical information includes medical problems, procedures, medications, medication allergies, demographics and lab results.  Other participating hospitals and providers can send and retrieve information as well.   Mr. Adams states that “Participating in the KHIE just makes good sense and more importantly provides for better continuity of care.  It’s not just a regional or state initiative, but a national health initiative.”   The KHIE is designed according to national standards to ensure interoperability among disparate health records systems. Through connectivity to the National Health Information Network (NHIN), the KHIE can support health information exchange across states.

Participating hospitals and providers access clinical data through the KHIE Community Portal or Virtual Health Record (VHR).  “The VHR offers a comprehensive electronic health record using a secure browser,” states Tammie Jones, Clinical Informatics Specialist for Lourdes Hospital.  The VHR presentation is like a traditional clinical chart, with tabs to segregate patient information into clinically relevant groups for easy chart review. The KHIE Community Portal makes it possible for providers with EHR technology to share and exchange patient data regardless of the type of information system or EMR used at each source.

For more information, see the Governor’s Office for Electronic Health Information website at http://khie.ky.gov.