Expanding Image Exchange in New York State: Introducing Express Connect

eHealth Technologies, HealtheConnections launch new service supporting image sharing for smaller practices

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Jan 29, 2020, 16:32 ET

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- eHealth Technologies, a leading imaging solutions provider for health information exchange (HIE), and HealtheConnections, the regional health information organization (RHIO) serving healthcare providers in 26 counties of New York state, are proud to announce a new development designed specifically for smaller practices to share and view diagnostic quality images.

Express Connect is a customized configuration of the eHealth Connect Image^® Exchange platform that enables clinics, smaller hospitals and imaging services providers the opportunity to share imaging studies with patient care teams quickly and securely. The development makes it possible for small, local, and cloud-based PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications Systems) to participate in the HealtheConnections imaging network with a simple, secure integration for no additional cost.

eHealth Connect® Image Exchange allows care providers to share imaging studies for immediate community-wide access through their health information exchange (HIE) and has been built-in to HIE platforms—like HealtheConnections—across the country. Most of the larger hospitals in the region served by HealtheConnections have been benefiting from this highly automated platform for sharing medical images for years. Now these same capabilities are available for smaller practices to share images by way of Express Connect.

Sharing medical imaging studies between providers has always been costly and time-consuming, particularly for smaller practices. Through the HIE, doctors and other medical staff are realizing the value of immediate access to images, alleviating a variety of inefficiencies that currently plague radiologic offices.

Smaller practices across the region can participate in the HealtheConnections image sharing network in a matter of days, because of this new offering. In sharp contrast with other image sharing solutions that are not integrated with HIEs, Express Connect makes it possible for radiology and cardiology images to be shared with other provider locations with virtually no effort. Patient matching, image identification and sharing happens behind the scenes, enabling staff at these facilities to focus their attention on caring for their patients.

HealtheConnections makes 200,000 additional imaging studies available every month through 35 sources, the largest in New York state. These are available either through a provider portal or pushed directly into a user's local PACS. With a patient's consent, an authorized provider can quickly and securely access and view diagnostic-quality images. This eliminates the need for discs, faxes, and excess phone calls to track down missing images – a huge opportunity to streamline operations.

"Image Exchange Services to community participants has been mostly from hospital and larger radiology service centers. By efficiently expanding to smaller radiology service centers, we are now able to provide more inclusive imaging information to all participants," said Rob Hack, President and CEO of HealtheConnections. "Sharing this important imaging information to the communities we serve, at the point of care, introduces cost savings, efficiencies in the clinician's workflow, and improvements in patient experience of care."

eHealth Technologies created this brand-new system in response to the growing need across the country. HealtheConnections' successful implementation is a solid foundation to introduce to other HIEs, develop future enhancements, and ultimately support improved patient care through robust HIE technology.

"eHealth Technologies is continually looking for new and advanced ways to support medical image-sharing, said Gary Larson, Executive Vice President, General Manager, HIE Solutions. "Express Connect is our latest innovation aimed at broadening the impact that HIEs have in terms of cost savings, enhanced patient experience, and ability for providers to quickly and efficiently develop treatment plans. This solution allows more sites to be connected with the HealtheConnections HIE community, increasing the overall impact the HIE has for patient care in the region."

HealtheConnections is currently offering this service to all participating organizations. To learn more about HealtheConnections, please visit healtheconnections.org or email [email protected].

About HealtheConnections
HealtheConnections is a Qualified Entity (QE) of the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY). HealtheConnections operates the health information exchange (HIE) for 26 counties of New York state, facilitates initiatives in alignment with state population health agendas, and develops value-based analytics solutions in support of value-based care structures. The health information exchange (HIE) connects 1,400 participating organizations, across 3,400 locations, supporting 10,000 doctors. Learn more by visiting healtheconnections.org.

About eHealth Technologies
eHealth Technologies is the leading provider of image-enabled Health Information Exchange (HIE) and medical record retrieval and organization services. With customers across the country, eHealth Technologies works with prominent HIEs throughout the US and top-ranked hospitals, including 16 of the 20 U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll Hospitals for 2018-2019. eHealth Connect® Image Exchange enables HIE subscribers access to full diagnostic quality medical records in the context of the patient record. The company's eHealth Connect® solutions enhance patient and physician satisfaction by streamlining care transitions and assuring physicians have the right information to care for their patients. Visit www.eHealthTechnologies.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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SOURCE eHealth Technologies