PA eHealth Collaborative Announces $6 Million in Grants to Advance Electronic Exchange of Health Information

HARRISBURG, Pa. , Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania eHealth Collaborative has awarded $6 million in grants to four organizations to engage in regional and statewide exchange of electronic health information. 

The local and regional health information exchanges (HIEs) already operating in Pennsylvania have only a limited ability to share information with each other. 

The four recipients will use the grants to connect hospitals, physicians, nurses and other health care providers to an HIE. The recipients will then connect to a technical platform that will enable interoperability among participating HIEs. The platform will also provide access to provider directory, patient index and record-locator services. Providing these shared services centrally will avoid cost replication among users seeking to securely exchange health information.

"Health information exchange is shown to improve healthcare quality, safety and efficiency, while at the same time reducing costs and making care more convenient for patients," said Robert Torres, Pennsylvania's Health Information Technology coordinator. "These grants will spur the development and use of health information exchange capacity across the state."

Grants of $1.5 million each were awarded to: HealthShare of Southeastern PA, Inc., Philadelphia; Highmark HIE, LLC., Pittsburgh; Lehigh Valley Hospital, Inc., Allentown; and St. Luke's Hospital, Bethlehem.

"Our goal is three-fold: we want to build capacity for exchanging health information; increase connectivity and the flow of patient information; and facilitate the movement toward nationwide interoperability," Torres added.

Health information exchange (HIE) is the electronic movement of health–related information among unaffiliated organizations according to nationally recognized standards. Pennsylvania received $17.1 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help establish a health information exchange.  For more information, visit the PA eHealth Collaborative website at www.paehealthcollab.com.

Media contact: Dan Egan, 717-772-4237

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of Administration

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