Electronic Health Records

June 30, 2009

Kaiser Permanente Participates in Health Data Exchange Demonstration

Kaiser Permanente was among five California health care organizations that successfully tested the exchange of clinical health information to improve patient care. The test showed how caregivers could obtain critical information from a patient’s medical record stored in another location.

Working through the California eHealth Collaborative, the five organizations — Kaiser Permanente, Long Beach Network for Health, Orange County CareConnect, Redwood MedNet and Santa Cruz Regional Health Information Organization — conducted the test June 26. The test used recently releases Nationwide Health Information Network software and showed that any community-based health information exchange or provider network that conforms to the NHIN standards can securely exchange clinically relevant data for treatment purposes.

“We are pleased to demonstrate that local provider organizations have the ability to securely share health care information with each other and to access information from previously established NHIN gateways,” states Jamie Ferguson, executive director of Health Information Technology Strategy and Policy for Kaiser Permanente and a member of the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Health IT Standards Committee.

The exchange is important because federal stimulus legislation provides incentives for the adoption of certified electronic health records technology.

For more information, read the press release (pdf) from the California eHealth Collaborative. The collaborative’s mission is to provide a unified voice for health information exchange participants promoting secure access to clinicalling relevant information at the point of care throughout California.