Iowa Health Information Network grows

Several health care providers across the state will soon go live with a significant feature of the Iowa Health Information Network (IHIN) - the state's health information exchange - public health officials announced.

The Iowa Health Information Network is a collaborative effort between the Iowa Department of Public Health, hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics, pharmacies, insurers and other health providers that allows organizations to easily and securely exchange patient data, including medical history and information on allergies, prescribed medications and doses.

The exchange's main purpose is to serve as a connection as more health centers move from paper-based records to electronic medical records.

The Patient Query feature allows authorized users, such as doctors, to perform a query-based search to find relevant patient information in real-time, the public health department said.

For example, an emergency room physician can check for patient data to learn about a patient's medications, current diagnosis or allergies. This helps the doctor make fully informed decisions about treatment, the public health department said.

Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids and UnityPoint Health's 24 Iowa hospitals, which includes St. Luke's, are among the hospitals that soon will launch the feature. Other hospitals include Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines and the Mercy Health Network - with its hospitals in Dubuque, Sioux City, Clinton and North Iowa.

'The addition of these hospitals and clinics makes the health information exchange in our state even more robust,” said Kim Norby, Iowa eHealth executive director. 'The IHIN is a tool that, when used fully, can help increase patient safety and reduce health care costs.”

These organizations join the Henry County Health System, Mary Greeley Medical Center and McFarland Clinics in Ames, and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Now 107 of the state's 119 hospitals are IHIN subscribers along with more than 400 primary and specialty clinics, long-term care, surgery centers, physical therapy and home health providers.