Redlands Community Hospital Joins Local Organizations In The Inland Empire Health Information Exchange

Redlands Community Hospital One of the First Hospitals in the Inland Empire to Join New County-wide Health Information-Sharing Network

REDLANDS, Calif. - Redlands Community Hospital is one of the newest members of the Inland Empire Health Information Exchange (IEHIE) - which is part of a strategic plan for the mobilization of health care information electronically across organizations within regions and ultimately, the state.

Redlands Community Hospital joins local hospitals, medical groups, and more than 2,000 physicians in the information-sharing network, linking health care providers throughout Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, with a population of over 4.1 million.

"Our goal with the Inland Empire Health Information Exchange will limit the number of redundant procedures which will help reduce costs, provide patients' critical information, such as labs and radiology results-- at the physician's fingertips," said Richard Gagnon, director, Information Systems at Redlands Community Hospital."

The IEHIE is one of 17 Health Information Exchanges (HIE) in California. The state is working on building its own intrastate HIE called Cal eConnect. Participants in the Inland Empire Information Health Information Exchange (IEHIE) include: Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC), San Bernardino County Medical Clinics and Public Health, Riverside County Regional Medical, Center (RCRMC), Riverside County Medical Clinics and Public Health, and the Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP).

"If one of our patients has been seen in the past by another physician or admitted to emergency department elsewhere in the region, their records can be retrieved by the new health care provider with the help of IEHIE," adds Gagnon.

As a participant of the health information exchange, Redlands Community Hospital will be able to:

•  Exchange real-time clinical information among participating provider
•  View consolidated clinical data (allergies, test results, medications, etc.) from one screen
•  Receive electronic alerts and notifications on patients
•  Submit laboratory and radiology orders and receive results online
•  Create case management care plans for patients with chronic conditions
•  Electronically transmit prescriptions
•  View radiology reports and images online, linked to the patient record

• Submit immunizations/syndromic surveillance/lab data to public health

"What we're building is a patient-centered platform from participants, and physicians, and populating this exchange environment so that patients are able to see their medical records," said Richard Swafford, PhD, executive director of the Inland Empire Health Information Exchange.

The IHIE will help keep patient records easily accessible and organized during a time when the sources of health are for a large number of people will be in constant change. When the project is complete the new system will allow patient information to be easily transmittable and accessed wherever the patients seek care, adds Swafford.

For more information about Redlands Community Hospital, please visit http://redlandshospital.org