Patty Enrado

CareSpark, a nonprofit regional health information organization (RHIO) serving Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, is proving the value of health information exchanges through several projects that rely on its provider registry.

Cincinnati and Detroit are the two final pilot communities selected under the new Beacon Community Program that is using health information technology to help tackle leading health problems in communities across the country. Between them they will receive $30 million in government money to help in their work.

With states either submitting or receiving approval from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT of their strategic and operational plans for statewide HIEs, the HIE market is booming for vendors.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida launched its new mobile web site less than four weeks ago, but early tracking reveals “encouraging” usage for both members and nonmembers.

Consumers engage more in their own healthcare when they have access to information through personal health records, according to a new survey on consumers and health IT.


Doylestown Hospital near Philadelphia has launched the next phase of its health IT connectivity initiative to share information with community physicians.

At the HIMSS10 Interoperability Showcase, the Federal Health Architecture (FHA) exhibited 40 kiosks of 23 scenarios involving 60 organizations, increasing its presence times eight.

In the HIE Symposium's opening keynote at HIMSS10, Congressman Phil Gingrey, MD (R-Ga.), said using the stimulus bill to drive adoption of integrated EMRs is "absolutely the right thing to do."

Competition and lost revenue are keeping communities from participating in health information exchanges, according to HIE officials around the country.

Caritas Christi Health Care is deploying Microsoft Amalga and HealthVault to transform its ability to deliver healthcare in the community, according to the health system's chief technology officer.