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.

Little Rock, March 2022  Highlands Oncology Group (HOG), one of the largest oncology practices in the country, has connected with the State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE), the statewide health information exchange (HIE) that facilitates the secure exchange of patient health information among hospitals, physicians, clinicians, and other members of the medical community. Nationally recognized cancer care in Northwest Arkansas their clinics offer highly advanced treatment options.

“Highlands Oncology Group is committed to delivering high-quality care in a professional and caring environment to improve the health and well-being of our patients,” said Jeff Hunnicutt, Chief Executive Officer of Highlands Oncology. “By connecting with SHARE, we expect to further this commitment by exchanging information more efficiently with referring physicians and providing our doctors with the patient information they need at the point of care.”  HOG is a nationally recognized cancer care in Northwest Arkansas that treats patients from Arkansas, northeast Oklahoma, and southern Missouri. Their clinic offers highly advanced treatment options, multi-disciplinary cancer teams, and industry leading clinical studies.

Highlands Oncology Group is sending admission, discharge, and transfer (ADT) data and Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs) to the HIE. HOG is also live with SHARE’s Virtual Health Record, which features a robust patient search functionality that lets providers and care teams quickly access patient health data from hospitals, physician practices, state health systems, and more. This includes records such as medical history, previous diagnoses, lab tests, medications, and allergies. Additionally, SHARE provides access to 24-hour Hospitalization reports (Inpatient and Emergency Department) discharges, COVID-19 Positive Reports, and COIVD -19 Vaccine status of their active oncology patients.

“We are pleased to welcome Highlands Oncology Group, one of the nation’s leading oncology practices, to SHARE,” said Anne Santifer, executive director of SHARE. “This connection helps facilitate the seamless and secure exchange of patient health information with Arkansas’s health systems, hospitals, and physicians. This delivers substantial benefits for patients, referring physicians, and the HOG practices.”

The SHARE network currently has more than 3 million unique patient records accessible to providers. SHARE is connected to the national eHealth Exchange and is also a member of DirectTrust, which enables its members to securely exchange information nationally with other providers who are using Direct.

About Highland Oncology Group: The mission of Highlands Oncology provides the highest quality of innovative care delivered with precision and compassion.  With locations in Springdale, Fayetteville, and Rogers, they provide Northwest Arkansas with comprehensive cancer care. They offer state-of-the-art medical care, with a commitment to honoring and caring for every person that we have the privilege to serve with love, joy, compassion, and ultimate respect.

When it comes to the ongoing war against cancer and blood diseases, there’s no other entity in Northwest Arkansas that’s waging a more direct, powerful, full-range offensive against these killers than Highlands Oncology Group.

Highlands, which was formed in 1996 and now has clinics in Fayetteville, Springdale, and Rogers, has made its mission to provide comprehensive cancer care using the latest, most advanced technologies and research available. This departmentalized approach has spawned the creation of a cancer research team and the Center for Chest Care, which is a multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Patient education, patient support groups, and research through clinical trials are also important services offered at Highlands Oncology Group.

Learn more: highlandsoncologygroup.com

22 March 2022      While technology knows no bounds, the same could not always be said for important medical test results. Until very recently, Arkansas residents being treated in Tennessee and Mississippi did not have the benefit of having medical test results electronically delivered to their Arkansas physicians and updated in the state’s health information exchange, SHARE. Baptist Memorial, a leading healthcare provider, has gone live with an expanded connection as a data provider with the State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE).

The recent addition of the Baptist Memorial Health System – 20+ hospitals and 200+ primary care and specialty care facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi, provides for an even more complete community health record for Arkansas residents when getting care across state line.  This expansion complements SHARE’s connection to their hospitals and clinics in Arkansas.

As the Arkansas’ only statewide health information exchange, SHARE is an electronic network for hospitals, physicians, medical providers, laboratories, FQHCs and others to safely exchange clinical results and reports. “With respect to healthcare, the speed at which state lines are blurring continues to accelerate, and the addition of an institution as large as Baptist Memorial is momentous,” said Justin Villines, HIT Policy Director of the Office of Health Information Technology that oversees SHARE HIE. “We see a time in the very near future when doctors across the country will have seamless and secure exchange of health information across a borderless system, regardless of where the patient lives, works, or vacations. These are the steps to making that level of clinical access a reality.”

About Baptist Memorial Health Care

Regarded as one of the premier health care systems in the nation, Baptist Memorial Health Care is an award-winning network dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality care for patients. With 21 affiliate hospitals throughout the Mid-South, Baptist combines convenience with excellence of care — two reasons they have been named among the top health care systems in the country for several years.

With the intention of caring for people close to their homes, the Baptist system also offers more than 5,000 affiliated physicians; home, hospice, and psychiatric care; minor medical clinics; a network of surgery, rehabilitation, and other outpatient centers; and an education system highlighted by the Baptist College of Health Sciences.  Since their modest beginning in 1912 with a 150-bed hospital, Baptist has grown to meet the expanding needs of the communities they serve, at one point becoming the largest privately owned hospital in the nation. But what has remained is the same caring atmosphere that inspired their founders. From their kitchen staff and office personnel to their experienced medical staff and renowned clinical services, that pervasive spirit of caring inspires every area of operation at Baptist.

Visit: http://www.baptistonline.org 

Little Rock, Arkansas, January 2022——- Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness (OBHAW) behavioral health clinics are now integrated with the statewide health information exchange, State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE). Access to an individual’s information helps the behavioral health and early intervention care team gain a “whole picture” of the patient’s health and better prepare for a fully engaging dialogue at each encounter. Anywhere/anytime access to patient data can help care teams better understand potential barriers to medication/treatment adherence and/or more appropriately prescribe controlled substances. This in turn can reduce health risks and identify adverse side effects related to behavioral health medication, which may have more drug-to- drug interactions and can lead to physical health side effects. The integration with the clinic’s EMR system provides increased communication between care teams such as, behavioral health, developmental delay intervention, and physical health that can help reduce the stigma associated with mental illnesses.

The connection to SHARE enables greater care coordination to manage more comprehensively and holistically the behavioral and physical health needs of the patient. “The use of our Qualifacts EMR system and SHARE HIE among our developmental delay patients, behavioral health and physical care referrals spurs the bi-directional exchange of critical health data which has the ability to improve knowledge sharing and health care outcomes for individuals”, said Jane Sherrill, Compliance Office for Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness. “The ongoing need for care coordination among behavioral and physical health care teams is critical. The coordination simply becomes much more efficient with the secure electronic exchange of health information, said Sherrill.”

About Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness: OBHAW has been servicing the community mental health needs for over 54 years. Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness is the nonprofit community mental health center facility for five surrounding counties. You may receive services in one of our five locations that are in Hot Springs, Malvern, Arkadelphia, Glenwood, and Mt Ida. OBHAW sees over 5,551 clients per year, half of whom have a serious mental illness. Current estimates indicate that 83% of those they serve are low to moderate-income, with 61% being on Medicaid. The mission at OBHAW “to bring hope and healing to our community, one life at a time” is carried out daily. They believe that a collaborative, whole- person approach to behavioral health care will help people in our communities to heal. Their team is dedicated to helping every individual find a path to healing that fits them. Their mission guides their organization in seeking out and continuing services and programs that help bring hope and health to each person within their communities.

Learn more: https://obhaw.org.