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.

Little Rock, Arkansas – July 2022

Excited to see you at Civitas Networks for Health 2022 annual conference, a collaboration with DirectTrust!

Come listen to Anne Santifer and Justin Villlines speak on “Improving Information Sharing in Arkansas for Children in Foster Care” Tuesday, August 23rd from 02:10 PM – 02:55 PM (CDT). 😀

Agenda: https://lnkd.in/dEZEqBnA
#healthinformationexchange #healthequity

This year’s theme is “Better Together: Health Data Collaboratives and Information Exchange to Advance Health Equity”

Little Rock, Arkansas – July 2022 – The State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE) announced that Kids for the Future Pediatric Day Clinics and Outpatient Behavioral Clinics has integrated and accessing secure clinical data in SHARE’s health information exchange (HIE), the statewide HIE in Arkansas.

The data exchange service gives Kids for the Future Pediatric Day Clinics and Kids for the Future Outpatient Behavioral Clinics, which includes (3) pediatric day clinics and (5) outpatient behavioral clinic locations in the Arkansas Delta region, secure access to important information such as hospitalization reports, COVID-19 positive reports, updated patient records and demographic information. This ensures every care provider in a patient’s chain of care has consistent and current information, and that their records are more secure and accessible than with paper files.

“With access to the SHARE exchange, we’ll see the big picture with our patients. If they’ve been to the hospital or seen a specialist since our last visit, updated test results and notes will be right there in their records,” said Kids for the Future Chief Executive Officer Bess Ginty. “The parents of our patients won’t have to worry about remembering every detail of a recent hospitalization or trip to the primary care provider, because having access to SHARE HIE assists us in improving efficiency.”

With SHARE integrating with deTASO and Credible EMR, the patients’ behavioral diagnosis and condition, clinical cognitive, fine motor skill, gross motor, speech, and language tests that are performed are available to their other providers in real time.  This is simply what interoperability means. SHARE HIE provides the capability to electronically move clinical information among disparate healthcare information systems and maintain the meaning of the information being exchanged. Founded over 20 years ago and comprising more 500 employees serving approximately 1400 children, Kids for the Future join other major health care providers in Arkansas in connecting to the SHARE network.

SHARE HIT Policy Director Justin Villines cited the partnership as the latest example of both groups’ innovation to improve patient outcomes by providing fast, secure communication among the developmental delay providers. “Care providers in our network enjoy seamless access to patients’ health data. Patients know their information is secure and available to their primary care doctors, specialists, and hospitals, so they don’t have to undergo unnecessary tests or worry that something will get lost in translation from one care provider to another,” Villines said.

About Kids for the Future Pediatric Day Clinics:

Kids for the Future believes in providing quality early intervention services for children with developmental delays as well as therapeutic services for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral health issues.

Kids for the Future is a family-owned and operated business located in 5 counties in northeast Arkansas.  For over 20 years, they have served tens of thousands of families, addressing each of their individual needs. Their focus is helping your child grow, all within a nurturing environment. Kids for the Future pediatric day clinics operate as Early Intervention Day Treatment (EIDT) clinics for the State of Arkansas. We serve developmentally delayed children from approximately 6 months of age to five years (until they enter Kindergarten).

A child must have delays in two domains in the Battelle Developmental Inventory and a criterion-referenced test as well as one delay in the following four areas to be admitted to our clinics:

• cognition
• fine motor skill
• gross motor
• speech and language

About Kids for the Future Outpatient Behavioral Clinics:

Kids for the Future, Inc. behavioral health clinics operate as Outpatient Behavioral Health Services (OBHS) clinics. Kids, Inc. employs psychiatrists, nurses, mastered level therapists, bachelor-level qualified behavioral health professionals, and rehabilitative day treatment professionals. They offer the following services for children and adolescents (ages 4-21) the following services in offices, schools, and homes in Northeast Arkansas:

• individual therapy
• family therapy
• group therapy
• case management service
• crisis interventions
• diagnostic evaluations
• medication management

They have approximately 500 employees serving approximately 1400 children. Kids for the Future also has an extensive van system that can transport your child to and from their facilities.

Learn more: kidsforthefuture.com

Arkansas, June 2022

Specialist, such as Arkansas Urology increasingly need to know when their patients receive hospital-based services, including emergency room care. Awareness allows providers to arrange for appropriate follow-up care based on each patient’s individual needs.  By Arkansas Urology now connected to AR State Health Alliance for Records Exchange, known as SHARE, now everyone in the patients’ clinical chain of command has assess to updated demographics, medications, allergies, vitals, procedures, conditions, and progress notes to include continuity of care documents (CCDs) from all of Arkansas Urology locations.

Health Information Exchange (HIE) is the transmission of health-related data among medical facilities, providers, and patients electronically. In stark contrast to traditional paper records faxed to primary care providers, electronic HIE enables health care providers and professionals, from doctors and nurses to pharmacists and specialists, to access and share critical medical information digitally properly and securely.

Arkansas Urology is now querying SHARE through their Athena EMR to seek and find specific health information about their patient from whatever appropriate clinical sources are available. Providers most commonly use this form of HIE to deliver unplanned care, such as in an emergency situation and critical updates from the primary care provider.

For example:

• An emergency-room physician may need to request x-ray information, current medications or problem lists for a patient unfamiliar to him or her.
• A Urologist may request updated bladder cancer clinical data from the hospital or primary care provider for a woman who has bladder cancer.

The fact that health information exchange is a growing practice among health care providers shows a clear recognition of its pressing need and invaluable benefits. These benefits of HIE are vast, encompassing the patient, provider, and health care system alike. Digital health information systems help ensure every person participating in a patient’s care, be they a primary-care practitioner, specialist, or emergency-room physician, is working from the same information. This helps to prevent costly and potentially dangerous errors, thereby cutting costs and improving health outcomes. If this modality saves even one life, it has proven it’s benefit.

“Having this connection with the HIE is invaluable for our patients and our facilities. Connecting to SHARE also allows us to meet Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) measures and requirements while improving patient care”, said Tami Croy, Director of Clinic Operations

About Arkansas Urology:

With locations across the state, Arkansas Urology provides the latest innovations in medical technology and surgical techniques to patients through its Centers of Excellence in urological specialties. The physicians and professional staff comprise one of the most experienced and respected urological practices in the country. Arkansas Urology treats approximately 110,000 patients a year in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Benton, Conway, El Dorado, Heber Springs, Harrison, Monticello, Pine Bluff, Stuttgart, Russellville, Fayetteville, Bentonville, and Jonesboro. Arkansas Urology is made up of 19 physicians, more than 21 advanced practice providers, and more than 300 clinical and business staff employees.

Learn more about Arkansas Urology: https://arkansasurology.com

Arkansas, May 2022

“SHARE has assisted us by identifying emergency department visits and inpatient stays of our children when they go to hospitals connected to SHARE including Arkansas Children’s Hospital and St. Mary’s Regional Health System.” Joy Wilson, Administrator

Forrester Davis Development Center in Clarksville, Arkansas provides services for developmentally delayed children, ages 6 weeks to five years. The center serves Johnson, Franklin, and Logan counties. Forrester Davis Development Center has been a part of the Clarksville community for many years. Their children’s department serves children 6 weeks of age to school age that are developmentally delayed or disabled. They have therapists on-site and contract from other agencies to ensure our children have the best-related services possible. 

Forrester Davis Development Center integrated their deTASO Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system with SHARE and sends real-time clinical data such as progress notes.  Forrester Davis Development Center also receives hospitalization reports and COVID 19 positive reports of their children.    

By viewing their patients’ health records in the SHARE web portal, also called the Virtual Health Record, Forrester Davis Development Center knows when one of their children, including high-risk patients, are receiving treatment in other SHARE-connected clinics.  In addition, the staff knows, on a daily basis, when patients are hospitalized or visits the emergency department (ER). This is a game-changer for the center, which did not have this information to manage their children before connecting to SHARE. Now, the center can contact the guardians of the children to make sure they are doing ok after a hospitalization.

Joy Wilson said that the center uses SHARE’s Secure Messaging and the Virtual Health Record to identify emergency department and inpatient stays with other healthcare providers in the region and to access historical data on current and new children they are serving.  The centers’ integration with SHARE successfully provides true interoperability for this developmental center. Another great advantage of the SHARE connection is COVID notifications “During COVID-19, being integrated with SHARE gives Forrester Davis Development Center the ability to access COVID testing results for their children regardless of the facility performing the testing.” said Wilson.

About Forrester Davis Development Center:

F.D.D.C.’s Children’s Program is licensed as an (EIDT) Early Intervention  Day Treatment facility. The Preschool (3-5 years) is also licensed through the Department of Education. Early Childhood Special Educators and a DHS Development Disability Service Coordinator provide comprehensive and individualized programs for each child. Program components include evaluation, individualized program planning, special education instruction, access to physical, speech, and occupational therapies as needed, and the services of a full-time nurse. Day Treatment is provided for infants/toddlers (6 weeks – 3 years) and preschoolers (3-5 years). Eligibility for services is based on evaluation results. F.D.D.C.’s Children’s Program has a comprehensive curriculum which includes instructions designed to increase developmental levels in the areas of language and communication, cognitive, social/emotional, adaptive/self-help, and fine/gross motor skills. It is our goal to utilize the best preschool instructional practices available to create a learning environment that is rich in creativity and fun as we work to meet each child’s individual needs. When necessary, children may be evaluated for the additional services provided by the Center.

Mission

Forrester-Davis Development Center’s mission is to provide educational/habilitative services that enable developmentally disabled children to pursue independence and a better quality of life.

Vision

For the children of Johnson County and surrounding areas to be able to receive the services they need to reach their full potential and start them on their way to becoming happy and productive citizens.

Learn more: https://www.forresterdavis.com

Arkansas, April 2022 We recently sat down with representatives from Interop Hero Arkansas SHARE (State Health Alliance for Records Exchange).  Justin Villines (Policy Director) and Anne Santifer (Director) share more about their unique roles in supporting the organization’s mission, as well as some of the ways they’ve been using data exchange and education to drive efficiencies and support their communities.

Arkansas SHARE is a state-wide healthcare information exchange (HIE). It gathers secure medical information from different health care providers to help doctors across the state quickly access and share information to help make the best decisions for their patients. The main goal of Arkansas SHARE is to reduce provider burden (like submitting paper records) through expanded use of secure data exchange and education around new technology.

Arkansas SHARE has a good relationship with their provider community, according to Anne. Back when the Affordable Care Act was established, they did a few things differently, like expanding Medicaid, creating value-based programs and understanding that data would be a big part of their strategy. They also set up the first state-wide HIE in Arkansas as a stand-alone state office to connect providers and reduce the burden of having to seek out records.

Justin adds that introducing something new (like comprehensive data exchange technology), especially in Arkansas, is always a little overwhelming. He acknowledges that many steps need to be taken for an effective implementation, like educating providers and meeting clinicians where they’re at. After all, having a good HIE integration is key to provider success.