Who Are We:

How To Join

Connectivity Resources

Contact Us

What is HIE?

Broadly defined, health information exchange (HIE) refers to the electronic movement of health-related information among diverse organizations such as doctors' offices, hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies, and skilled nursing facilities. HIE is supported through the adoption of nationally recognized standards and policies that facilitate the exchange of clinical information among very different health care information systems while maintaining the meaning of the information being exchanged.

Sometimes people use the acronym “HIE” to refer to an organization that facilitates the exchange of information within a region, community, of hospital system. Used this way, the terms “RHIO” (regional health information organization) and “HIE” are often used interchangeably.

In the United States, federal and state regulations and incentives related to HIE and HIT (health information technology) are still being defined. In addition, information technology continues to evolve rapidly, offering up capabilities for exchange that did not exist even a few years ago.

HIE is a dynamic arena for innovation and improvement in how we provide health care. Cal eConnect seeks to enable the adoption of electronic health information exchange to expand these benefits to all residents of the State of California.

Why is HIE important?

The goal of HIE is to facilitate access to and retrieval of clinical data to provide safer, more timely, efficient, effective, equitable, patient-centered care. HIE is also useful to public health authorities.

For example, an aging parent may experience a stroke or heart attack. His or her initial visit to a doctor or emergency room may result in admission to a hospital, followed by days, weeks, or months in multiple rehabilitation or skilled nursing facilities. During this time, various radiological scans or laboratory tests may be performed. One or more physicians may be prescribing pharmaceutical interventions. Nurses are observing the patient and noting progress or problems. HIE allows relevant information about the patient to be shared among care providers, as well as with the patient and family members caring for the patient.

HIE also supports public health by facilitating the transmission, collection, and analysis of information related to health trends, infectious disease outbreaks, and disaster response. In addition to improved patient care, HIE can also help reduce provider and insurer expenses associated with duplicate tests, time involved in recovering missing patient information, and the time and materials cost associated with the paper, ink and office machinery required to manually print, scan, and fax documents, the physical mailing of entire patient charts, and manual phone communication to verify delivery of traditional communications, referrals, and test results.

Join Us