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The Arkansas Attorney General’s office has become aware of increased phishing attempts targeting health care professionals. OHIT reminds its users that we do not send unsolicited emails requesting your login or personal information. If you receive a suspicious email that appears to be from SHARE or OHIT please notify your facility’s privacy or security staff.

SHARE Significantly Expands Integration with Northwest Health & Medical Center of South Arkansas

Northwest Health and Medical Center of South Arkansas, both part of Community Health Systems, has expanded their connection to the State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE), the state’s only statewide health information exchange (HIE). This move significantly expands the coordination and exchange of health information for patients across Arkansas. 

The integrated connection to SHARE includes robust Admission, Discharge and Transfers (ADTs) notifications, laboratory results, radiology reports, pathology reports, immunizations, discharge summaries, progress notes and Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs) from all hospitals to include: Medical Center of South Arkansas, Northwest Medical Center- Bentonville, Northwest Medical Center- Springdale, Siloam Springs Regional Hospital, Willow Creek Women’s Hospital, Northwest Health Physicians’ Specialty Hospital, Northwest Health Emergency Department- Fayetteville and the brand new Northwest Health Emergency & Urgent Care in West Bentonville. This integration also aids the Community Quality Alliance in managing its Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and Clinically Integrated Network of providers (CIN).

Partnering with SHARE extends the hospital’s ability to coordinate the care of its patients by seamlessly integrating their electronic health record (EHR) systems to coordinate care with specialists, community clinics, primary care, and behavioral health providers. This connectivity ensures that all providers connected to SHARE have the holistic view of a patient’s medical information available to them, right at the point of care. Ultimately, this kind of interoperability—across different providers, EHR systems and diverse venues of care—allows clinicians to work together to improve quality, efficiency, and patient safety.

“As a leader in safe, high-quality patient care, we value the opportunity to have and provide access to a patient’s medical history securely and electronically,” said Shanda Guenther, Market Chief Quality Officer at Northwest Health. 

“We are continuously looking at ways in which we can make the health care experience more convenient for our patients and this is certainly helping us in those efforts,” said Danna Wagnon Taylor, Assistant Administrator/ Practice Manager at Medical Center of South Arkansas. 

“Adding Northwest Health hospitals and Medical Center of South Arkansas to the SHARE HIE further demonstrates the commitment of our healthcare institutions to collaborate on the delivery of patient care,” said Bruce Shepard, Executive Director of Community Quality Alliance, a clinically integrated network (CIN) affiliated with Northwest Health.

Northwest Health hospitals and the Medical Center of South Arkansas joins an already extensive portfolio of providers within the SHARE HIE. Today, patients can benefit from SHARE’s services when receiving treatment at more than 2,000 venues of care, including more than 80 percent of the hospitals in Arkansas. Patients who consent to sharing their information with the health information exchange can make that information readily available to participating medical providers when and where it’s needed.

“SHARE’s mission is to improve the delivery, coordination, and quality of health care across Arkansas through the state-wide use of health information technology and clinical data exchange,” Anne Santifer, Office of Health Information Technology Director said. “To that end, health information exchange isn’t just about technology—it’s about everything the movement of patient health information makes possible.”

About Northwest Health

With a combined active medical staff of more than 900 physicians, 2,400 employees and 487 beds, Northwest Health is one of the largest health networks in Northwest Arkansas with five hospitals and two standalone emergency departments:

  • Northwest Medical Center – Bentonville
  • Northwest Medical Center – Springdale
  • Siloam Springs Regional Hospital
  • Northwest Health Physicians’ Specialty Hospital
  • Willow Creek Women’s Hospital

Northwest Health provides inpatient, outpatient, diagnostic imaging, medical, surgical, and emergency services to the Bentonville, Springdale, Fayetteville, Johnson, and Siloam Springs communities in Northwest Arkansas. They are your family, friends, and neighbors, and we work with and for our community to provide quality health care that fits your life and lifestyle. 

 Visit: NorthwestHealth.com

About Medical Center of South Arkansas

Medical Center of South Arkansas, accredited by Joint Commission, is a general acute-care Level III Trauma Center hospital licensed by the Arkansas Department of Health. Our 166-bed facility’s inpatient services include emergency services, obstetrics and newborn care, pediatric care, intensive care, otolaryngology, general surgery, orthopedics, physical medicine, and rehabilitation and other services. Telemedicine services include pulmonology, neurology and AR Saves stroke telemedicine. Outpatient services include a full-service laboratory, speech, physical and occupational therapies, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, wound care and radiological services including, MRI, CT, digital mammography and more.  

Visit: themedcenter.net

About Community Quality Alliance

To assure that patients in Northwest Arkansas receive the highest quality care, Northwest Health has partnered with independent and employed physicians from across the region to develop a clinically integrated network (CIN). A CIN is a coalition of healthcare providers who work together in an aligned delivery network to improve the quality of care provided and improve the health outcomes of our community while controlling the total cost of care. The Community Quality Alliance (formerly Northwest-Sparks Quality Alliance) is governed by employed and community physicians working collaboratively to assure patients receive the highest quality and safest care.

Through the Community Quality Alliance, Northwest Health is moving towards a more collaborative way of providing care, working with patients, providers, and payers to build a care system that coordinates the patient’s care across the community. Under value-based care models, providers are rewarded for helping patients accomplish three primary objectives: improve their health, reduce the effects and incidence of chronic disease and for controlling the total cost of care where possible. It refocuses the way providers are paid for care since pay is based in part on whether the highest quality care is provided in the most appropriate setting at the right time.

Visit: northwesthealth.com/northwest-community-quality-alliance