Health Information Exchange

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A Health Information Exchange securely and confidentially enables electronic transfer of clinical information between separate health care information systems.

What are the benefits of an HIE?

A Health Information Exchange (HIE) offers the potential to improve the overall quality and competitiveness of a region's healthcare environment. Specifically, an HIE can help to:

  • Improve patient safety.
  • Ensure that physicians have the tools and information they need at the point of care to optimally treat their patients.
  • Enable better coordination of care among different providers.
  • Support public health reporting.
  • Reduce paper inefficiencies.
  • Shorten the time it takes to accurately make a diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment.

Financial Benefits

In addition to the improvements in patient safety and better care, the MiHIA Business and Finance team estimates a potential community benefit in excess of $40 million per year, due to greater efficiency and reduction of unnecessary services.

Technology focus

After a comprehensive review of current literature, industry best practices and successful and failed HIEs, the following technology recommendations have been made:

  • Provide or subcontract critical exchange services of high value to the MiHIA community of interest.
  • Host and operate a formal data exchange mechanism capable of transmitting and brokering data among entities according to predefined standards, laws and policies.
  • Gateway data to external groups according to predefined standards, laws and policies.
  • Facilitate the linking of emergency departments within the region to share minimum patient history records according to predefined standards, laws and policies.
  • Facilitate the linking and sharing of pharmacy fulfillment providers within the region to improve patient safety according to predefined standards, laws and policies.

For more information about MiHIA's Health Information Exchange project, please contact Health Information Exchange research associate Luke DeHart at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.