All Northern Colorado Hospitals Now Connected To CORHIO Health Information Exchange

DENVER, Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CORHIO, the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization, announced today that all six northern Colorado hospitals are connected to the health information exchange (HIE). By connecting to CORHIO's secure network, hospitals in the region operated by University of Colorado Health (UCHealth) and Banner Health are electronically sharing vital patient information with community-based providers across the region and the state.

Health care providers that connect to the HIE help their patients obtain higher quality patient care with less hassle by communicating clinical information and test results faster and more accurately between offices and appointments. Better communication between providers improves care coordination, reduces delays in patient care, and minimizes costly duplicative medical tests.

UCHealth is the new health system formed from a partnership between Poudre Valley Health System and the University of Colorado Hospital. Memorial Health in Colorado Springs officially joins UCHealth today, October 1. In northern Colorado, UCHealth operates Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins and Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland which are connected to the HIE.

Banner Health, based in Phoenix, owns and operates 23 hospitals. Its four Colorado hospitals connected to the HIE include East Morgan County Hospital in Brush, McKee Medical Center in Loveland, North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, and Sterling Regional MedCenter in Sterling.

"Banner Health is proud to have its Colorado hospitals participate with CORHIO," said Jim Ferando, Banner Health's Western Region president. "This will benefit patients by allowing hospitals and physicians across the state to access the information they need to provide the most appropriate care."

The CORHIO HIE gives physicians and other authorized medical care providers access to important health information about their patients including hospital discharge notifications, lab test results, X-ray, MRI and other imaging reports, physician transcription reports and referral information. Later, the network will be upgraded to include patient medication lists, allergies and immunizations.

"Banner Health and University of Colorado Health are great examples of hospital systems with strong leadership that are willing to make investments in information technology that improve the care of the communities they serve," said Dr. Larry Wolk, CORHIO's chief executive officer. "Every time a hospital or medical clinic connects to the HIE, they are making a positive impact on the quality of health care in their community. And with each provider we add to the network, we're one step closer to achieving our goal of providing safer, more efficient and effective health care for Coloradans."

On a state level, there are currently 27 hospitals, over 290 office-based providers, 29 long-term and post-acute care facilities and two behavioral health centers connected to the CORHIO HIE. CORHIO is also in the process of expanding its network of health care providers and is actively working to connect two additional hospitals, more than 800 additional office-based providers, 21 additional long-term and post-acute care providers and three behavioral health centers.

About CORHIO
CORHIO is dedicated to improving health care quality for all Coloradans through health information exchange (HIE). As the state designated entity for HIE, CORHIO collaborates with health care stakeholders including physicians, hospitals, clinics, public health, long-term care, laboratories, health plans and patients to improve care collaboration through secure systems and processes for sharing clinical information. CO-REC, a CORHIO initiative, assists primary care providers in adopting, implementing and becoming meaningful users of electronic health record (EHR) systems. CORHIO is a not-for-profit supported in large part by grants, including awards from the Colorado Health Foundation and from federal ARRA HITECH funds.  CORHIO's technical infrastructure is built on industry-leading HIE technology developed and maintained by Medicity.  For more information about CORHIO, please visit www.corhio.org.

SOURCE CORHIO