Little Rock, Arkansas February 2023       

At the start of the pandemic, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which included a temporary requirement that Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled, and, in exchange, states received enhanced federal funding. Department of Human Services, which oversees Arkansas Medicaid, has taken several steps to educate Medicaid beneficiaries and provide them with the necessary steps to reduce coverage disruptions. SHARE, Arkansas’ only statewide HIE has collaborated with Arkansas Medicaid to provide notifications to primary care providers on the potential impact of losing Medicaid Beneficiaries. SHARE leveraged its existing patient groups and existing notification services to send out targeted reports to primary care providers throughout the state. 

Little Rock, Arkansas February 2023       

The State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE) HIE securely provides a comprehensive picture of a patient’s care across providers and regions with Access Medical Clinics. Access Medical Clinics now has over 35 clinics statewide from Garfield to El Dorado and growing. Patient’s records are updated 24/7 with each encounter with connection between SHARE and their Athena EMR. Connecting practitioners to timely and actionable patient information facilitates care coordination and promotes cost-effective solutions.

SHARE is a gateway to real-time, actionable patient data to improve routine care, emergency care or care management. Data can be queried directly from the Athena EMR or accessed through the SHARE Virtual Health Record (VHR) Portal. With increased patient mobility and expanded healthcare delivery options, SHARE provides access to the bigger patient picture 24/7.

Little Rock, Arkansas January 2023       

SHARE has received the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Outcomes-Based Certification (OBC). During the certification review, SHARE proposed three of its premier services for CMS to evaluate: event notification services, real time Medicaid clinical data exchange, and public health reporting capabilities. The certification allows SHARE to receive enhanced federal funding to support the ongoing operations and to continue our mission to improve the delivery, coordination, and quality of health care across Arkansas. 

Little Rock, Arkansas December 2022       

Health Information Exchange (HIE) has the potential to change the way we provide and receive medical care. It can assist in eliminating fatal medical errors and save lives. Changes are on the way for health care in Central Arkansas. PrimeCare Medical Clinic, a multispecialty clinic with locations in Searcy, North Little Rock, Conway, and West Conway, has integrated their eCW electronic medical record system with SHARE HIE. The goal behind this coordinated effort is to better connect physicians with the patients’ health data while PrimeCARE Doctors, Physician Assistants, and Nurse Practitioners work collaboratively to provide excellent care with a more complete health record of their patient.

Widespread interoperability for health information exchange (HIE) could revolutionize the medical industry through enhanced care coordination, diminished clinician burnout, and increased access to data for medical care and analytics.

Little Rock, Arkansas November 2022       

The State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE) announced today Woodside Medical is leveraging its community health data from local hospitals, ambulatory/specialty sites, and behavioral health centers to better track and manage continuity of care delivery activities for its population, specifically person’s living with multiple chronic conditions.

Woodside Medical hopes to redefine southern health care, bringing top quality healthcare in an efficient manner, with a focus on patient provider interaction, access to health information, and responsive staff creates healthier Arkansans.’  

Little Rock, Arkansas October 2022         The core of Health Information Exchange (HIE) is sharing of electronic information between organizations. Because of the power and complexity that’s possible with Electronic Health Records (EHR), organizations such as Ozark Orthopaedics continue to invest significant time and resources to achieve the level of interoperability that’s essential for efficient care.

Today, healthcare providers go beyond treatment, offering preventative care and routine check-ups to keep patients healthy. Through value-based care (VBC) models, the provider is financially rewarded when their patients successfully achieve a core set of care metrics (e.g., reduced readmissions). To provide optimal care and earn financial incentives, the care team spend hours engaging with and outreaching to their patients, which can be both difficult and time consuming. In Arkansas, where patients often receive care across multiple providers, it’s hard to know if gaps in care have been met elsewhere.  The State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE), Arkansas’ statewide HIE, data provides insight into the care delivered across providers, hospital networks and geographies.

In Ozark Orthopaedics’ four locations, they are committed to improving the quality and safety of care they provide to their patients. That’s why they have integrated their Athena EHR with SHARE – which allows the clinicians and care team to quickly get the comprehensive medical information they need to deliver efficient and personalized care.

To provide referral partners with the safest, most effective, and efficient care possible, authorized clinicians and care teams need a complete picture of their patients’ medical history—especially in emergencies, when every second counts. By using SHARE Health Information Exchange, Ozark Orthopaedics clinicians can quickly get the medical information they need. Also, when transitioning patients’ care to other providers, SHARE allows the information in Ozark Orthopaedics Athena EHR to travel with the patient, supporting care continuity.

Little Rock, Arkansas –October 2022      Many people—particularly those with chronic health conditions—get health care services from various clinicians, resulting in records scattered across multiple facilities. When patients try to share records across these sites of care, medical facilities often send information via fax machine—if at all. And, if patients want to collect all their records to bring to their specialist, they may be required to pick up files in person. 

This has now changed for CABUN Rural Health Services clinics, that is now integrated with the Arkansas’ statewide health information exchange, known as the State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE). As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), CABUN established in 1978, has taken interoperability to heart the last few years, which is a visible expression of the unswerving commitment they have to the Arkansas communities they serve. Their partnerships with local businesses and concerned citizen groups, as well as their participation in community development activities, speak to the ongoing commitment to provide affordable health for all in Arkansas.

As medical care facilities seek to support patient safety and be responsive to their complete medical needs and histories, health centers also recognize that establishing an infrastructure for data sharing must be a top priority. Better practices for Health Information Exchange (HIE) increase patient well-being by giving providers more complete information for clinical decision-making, eliminating unnecessary procedures and tests, reducing the burden of paperwork, and lowering costs. 

Little Rock, Arkansas – September 2022 

An FQHC Treats Complex Patients Using SHARE HIE Data

Through SHARE (State Health Alliance for Records Exchange), Boston Mountain Rural Health Centers (BMRHC) can access patient data that is actionable, relevant, and easily accessible. This data is available at a provider and care teams fingertips and helps impact patient care.

Despite the widespread availability of secure electronic data transfer, most medical information is locked in data silos. To improve the completeness of a patient’s record and close gaps in fragmented care coordination, fourteen community-based Federally Qualified Health Center locations have connected securely to SHARE HIE with their eClinicalWorks EMR system. The Rural Health Centers have instant access to the most current patient-encounter data ─ physician notes, lab results, diagnostic image results, procedures, ordered prescriptions, and more ─ to inform clinical diagnoses at the point of care. BMRHC’s access and exchange of clinical patient information in an efficient, timely, and cost-effective manner without changing their existing patient consent practices is vital to BMRHC and their value-based contracts.

BMRHC cares for men, women, children, and families regardless of their ability to pay. When a patient arrives in the ER, or is admitted to the hospital, SHARE provides 24-hour daily hospitalization notifications for each clinic as well as to their accountable care organization (ACO). These daily hospitalization reports notify the physician’s care team regarding the patient — right then and there.

Little Rock, Arkansas – August 2022 Many examples of how Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) data is used to reduce costs and improve care can be seen throughout many communities in the United States. Now, Hark is integrated with Arkansas’ health information exchange (HIE), known as the State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE).

Hark connects Northwest Arkansas residents with vital community resources and services in those moments “when life happens”. Hark’s custom client resource plans bridge the complex nature of health and human services and are based on Northwest Arkansas’ most robust database of resources. The SDOH is now available in SHARE HIE to providers throughout Northwest Arkansas and the State who care for these individual patients.

“The health of Arkansans is primarily influenced by non-medical factors such as food, housing, social connectedness, and safety, often referred to as social determinants of health, said Josh Hall, LCSW and Vice President, Excellerate Foundation / Executive Director, Hark. “To support whole-person care and make it easier for Arkansans to access the comprehensive services they need, it is necessary to connect healthcare systems and systems of SDOH services more seamlessly. This is why connecting to the statewide ‘SHARE’ HIE is valuable and sustainable.”

The goal is to connect with as many providers as possible to provide information about resources, while, at the same time, speaking to specific clients that may not be reaching out for help. Hark gathers data and insights to benefit Northwest Arkansas, and then these are aggregated to show what resources are available, accessed, missing, and so on. Hark believes that data should benefit everyone, so, with the clients’ consent, that information is shared with SHARE HIE and made available to their healthcare providers. In this way, the clients benefit even more through a statewide approach.

Hark uses an innovative model to connect people to resources through a combination of its Hark technology platform and its connection specialists, known as Community Liaisons. To better understand the lives and health of the people of Northwest Arkansas and to help guide them to community services, Hark and SHARE worked together to build an interface linking the SDOH data to the HIE that makes the information available to providers when serving their patients’ healthcare needs.

The results of addressing SDOH run the gamut from reductions in healthcare costs and inpatient stays to improvements in the quality of life of residents, which are affected by things like housing stability and level of preventative care. But to truly create sustainable and impactful SDOH programs, it’s critical to look at the needs of the populations and communities serve while sharing the data to everyone in the healthcare chain of command.

The ability of SDOH initiatives to improve the overall health of members has become a primary focus in the industry. It will be the realized savings from reduced medical expenses over each covered individual’s lifetime and happier, healthier Arkansans that will provide a significant competitive advantage for SDOH early adopters.

SDOH can have a direct impact on both individuals and populations, affecting medication adherence (due to limited access or ability to pay), nutritional needs, and overall healthcare outcomes. It is important to note that SDOH plays a key role in health equity, which is defined as “creating a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible and removing obstacles to health stemming from socio-demographic factors like poverty and discrimination.” This intersects with SDOH since removing obstacles to advancing health equity includes increasing access to education, housing, safe environments, and healthcare.

Little Rock, Arkansas – August 2022       The benefits of health information exchange (HIE) and electronic health records (EHR) are often seen in terms of coordinating care between primary care physicians and medical subspecialists, such as cardiologists, urologists, and orthopedists.  Behavioral health is just as important as these other specialties but is often considered a separate entity outside of the scope of the primary care physician’s responsibility.

Mental health patients with serious illnesses are often poorly served by the established healthcare system, even with new technologies in use. 

One of the solutions for improved mental health treatment is integrated care.  Local initiatives, such as the SHARE HIE and AR Nextstep Counseling Services, are now integrated sharing data with their PIMSY EMR to simplify access to behavioral healthcare for vulnerable patients. 

SHARE HIE is a vital component for making the medical home a reality.  When providers – including behavioral health care practitioners – can share records electronically, a complete picture of the patient’s health status is presented to all physicians involved.  With the SHARE HIE network in place, treatment plan, medications, and conditions and diagnoses that might affect the patient’s state of mind and overall health are accessible to everyone on the continuum of care, eliminating the need to fill in gaps through guessing and decreasing the risk of repeated procedures or misinformation, thereby reducing costs.