Southeast Michigan Beacon Community becomes a Qualified Data Sharing Organization

EAST LANSING, Mich., Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) has announced that Southeast Michigan Beacon Community (SEMBC), and its Health Information Exchange, BeaconLink2Health, has recently become a fully-qualified data sharing organization for the electronic sharing of health information through MiHIN.  SEMBC will have full access to MiHIN's shared services including Public Health Reporting through MiHIN to the State of Michigan's Department of Community Health (MDCH). 

By entering into MiHIN's legal umbrella for secure and private electronic Health Information Exchange (HIE), SEMBC joins a dynamic group of organizations already participating in this arrangement, which includes the State of Michigan's MDCH Data Hub and all six sub-state health information exchanges in Michigan which are already qualified data sharing organizations:

Great Lakes Health Information Exchange (GLHIE), based in East Lansing;
Ingenium, based in Bingham Farms;
Jackson Community Medical Records (JCMR), based in Jackson;
Michigan Health Connect (MHC), based in Grand Rapids;
Southeast Michigan Health Information Exchange (SEMHIE), based in Ann Arbor;
Upper Peninsula Health Information Exchange (UPHIE), based in Marquette;

MiHIN Executive Director Tim Pletcher stated "We are pleased to have the Beacon Community join MiHIN as our eighth Qualified Organization, and we are excited to start seeing SEMBC exchange electronic health information through MiHIN.  Beacon's work has been recognized nationally, and their participation and health information exchange with MiHIN and the other Qualified Organizations will help improve the quality of care for patients and providers in Michigan."

"We are tremendously excited about being recognized as a fully-qualified data sharing organization by MiHIN," said Terrisca Des Jardins, Director of the Southeast Michigan Beacon Community, "Our relationship with MiHIN and its seven other Qualified Organizations paves the way for more robust, effective exchange of health information, and ultimately improved quality and cost in the delivery of care in Southeast Michigan and the entire state."

SEMBC will be sending immunizations from its providers through MiHIN and the MDCH Data Hub to the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR) for Public Health reporting and Meaningful Use Stage One.   SEMBC also plans to begin sending Admit-Discharge-Transfer records through MiHIN, which helps improve coordination efforts for care teams and also enables additional public health reporting such as syndromics.

Participants in SEMBC's Health Information Exchange, BeaconLink2Health, include the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) and DMC affiliates, all 12 of the Federally Qualified Health Centers (23 sites) in Wayne County, and numerous other private practice primary care providers in Wayne County and Southeast Michigan.

About Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN)
The Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN) is Michigan's initiative to improve health care quality, efficiency, and patient safety through the sharing of electronic health information, while reducing costs. MiHIN is the official state designated entity for health information exchange across Michigan and the future integration with the eHealth Exchange. MiHIN is a Michigan nonprofit entity, functioning as a public and private collaboration between the State of Michigan, sub-state Health Information Exchanges, payers, providers, and patients. For more information please visit www.mihin.org.

About the Southeast Michigan Beacon Community
The Southeast Michigan Beacon Community (SEMBC) is one of 17 Beacon Communities established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and administered by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). As part of a larger healthcare revolution, the Southeast Michigan Beacon Community is committed to building and strengthening local health IT infrastructure and testing innovative approaches to make measureable improvements in health, care and cost.  For more information, visit www.sembc.org.

SOURCE Michigan Health Information Network