Sharing health information across provider and geographic boundaries

We want to change the way health information is used and reused in order to influence how health care is delivered. Through our health information network, the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange is having this kind of impact. WHIE:

  • captures data locally,
  • shares data regionally, and
  • delivers this health information across health care system boundaries.

We do this so providers can make more informed health care decisions, and in turn provide improved and cost-effective care that is safer for the consumer.

We also share de-identified versions of information, where appropriate, to support public health through syndromic surveillance.

"Partnerships such as ours with WHIE help improve the health of the community as a whole, addressing key problems facing our health care system: fragmentation of medical history, waste accrued through repetitive testing and an inability to provide a community-wide solution to care coordination."

Dr. Albert Tzeel, MD, MHSA,
National Medical Director Humana One

Now in our fourth year of enabling successful exchanges of medical information between our participating providers, the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange is taking the lead to develop new uses of this information to truly revolutionize health care. When the focus can be changed from simply the creation of shared records to how the information is used and reused, then we all will see the true impact of health information technology on patient health outcomes.

Adopting an electronic health record system and achieving meaningful use

Health care providers in small practices and large health systems alike are challenged to adopt electronic health records and achieve the ability to share health information with other providers (meaningful use). Statewide efforts are underway to develop a health information network and securely link these individual networks together. Differing from some regional exchanges that are electronic health record or delivery system specific, WHIE intentionally built our health information exchange to work with any electronic record or integrated delivery network. This distinction is key to our role in working with Wisconsin Statewide Health Information Network (WISHIN) as their technical manager. WISHIN is the organization leading efforts to achieve a statewide health information network .