Health Information Exchange Featured Article

June 23, 2011

North Idaho Health Network Chooses MobileMD for Regional Health Information Exchange and Data Repository



To offer state-of-the-art Health Information Exchange services to the medical community throughout Idaho's five northern counties, North Idaho Health Network and MobileMD, Inc., Yardley, Pa., have signed partnership.

 North Idaho Health Network will use MobileMD's turnkey technology and services to establish a regional Health Information Exchange and Data Repository providing connectivity and interoperability between Benewah Community Hospital, Bonner General Hospital, Boundary Community Hospital, Kootenai Medical Center, Shoshone Medical Center, and its 305 physician members.  

According to a press release, this agreement utilizes MobileMD's 4D HIE technology to improve patient care by empowering North Idaho Health Network member physicians and hospitals to electronically and securely connect and communicate health information about their patients rapidly, and provides even greater data exchange between various points of care.

Donald Chisholm, M.D., president of North Idaho Health Network, said, "The ability to provide secure, electronic interoperability with our physician community, sharing critical patient health information in real time, will not only reduce costs, but, more importantly, will improve the physician-patient relationship and patient outcomes, ultimately improving the health and wellbeing of our community."

 Under this deal, Health Information Exchange physician and hospital members will be able to access and share vital patient health information (PHI) including lab and imaging results, orders, continuity of care documents, medication lists and other pertinent patient health information.    

"No longer will we have to rely on manual or cumbersome means to furnish clinicians with information they need when they need it – no more faxing, mailing or phone calls to get relevant patient information.  The HIE will improve safety within our health system and enable us to expand this exchange to include regional HIE currently being developed for eastern Washington or the Idaho Health Data Exchange as opportunities present themselves in the future,"  said Michael Dixon, M.D., North Idaho Health Network Medical Director.

MobileMD will integrate PHI directly into these disparate EHRs used across the medical community.  For physician practices that have not yet implemented EHR technology or are on the path to implementing an EHR, MobileMD will provide their 4D Clinical Portal to serve as an easy to use, web-enabled, highly secure, communications and sharing platform designed to facilitate access to critical PHI, regardless of location or system of PHI origination.

HealthTechZone reported that CareSpark also demonstrated Direct Project interoperability at the 2011 Annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference & Exhibition, Feb. 21-24, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.


Mandira Srivastava is a HealthTechZone contributor. She works as a full-time writer, ghostwriter and blogger, and has more than two years of experience in print and Web media. She has also worked on company brochures, website content and product descriptions, as well as proofreading and editing content. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
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