University Of Colorado Hospital Joins CORHIO Health Information Exchange Network

DENVER, March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CORHIO, the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization, announced today that University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) has signed an agreement to connect to its health information exchange (HIE). By connecting its Epic electronic health record (EHR) system with CORHIO's HIE, University Hospital is ensuring that its patients will receive more efficient follow-up care with their primary care doctors and any other community-based health care providers they choose to visit who are part of the CORHIO network.

University of Colorado Hospital is part of the new University of Colorado Health (UCHealth) system. Four other UCHealth hospitals are already connected to the CORHIO HIE network and those are Memorial Hospital Central and Memorial Hospital North in Colorado Springs, Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland and Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins. University Hospital will be the final hospital in the UCHealth system to connect to CORHIO.

"Interconnected electronic health records are an important part of the future of health care," said UCHealth CEO Bruce Schroffel. "We're focused on getting every UCHealth location connected through the same medical record system which will increase quality and efficiency, and CORHIO allows us to connect to outside hospitals and clinics across the state."

University of Colorado Hospital is well known for its research focus and the innovative procedures it offers that are unavailable at other hospitals in the region. Additionally, the hospital is designated as a "Comprehensive Cancer Center" by the National Cancer Institute. Because of this, University of Colorado Hospital draws patients from all over the state and region. When those patients return to their hometowns, their primary care doctors and local specialists now have the opportunity to provide better follow-up care by having access to up-to-date information about their patients' test results and other clinical information from the hospital.

"Electronic health records already offer improved safety and convenience for my patients," said CT Lin, MD, chief medical information officer at UCH.  "I regularly see patients from other areas of Colorado including the Western Slope, and being connected through CORHIO will allow me to remain in close contact with my patients and their local physicians, and to safely and securely share medical records and test results once they return to their hometowns."

Hospitals that participate in the CORHIO HIE are sharing vital patient information with community-based providers across the state. The HIE gives physicians and other 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, newborn screening results and referral information.

"Patients travel from all parts of Colorado to get specialty care at University of Colorado Hospital," says Larry Wolk, M.D., chief executive officer at CORHIO. "When those patients return home, they can expect their local doctors to have a better understanding of the tests that were done and the follow-up care they will need. In the case of a cancer patient, who is probably seeing multiple health care providers every month for testing and treatments, this has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of care they receive and their quality of life."

On a state level, there are currently 28 hospitals, 660+ office-based providers, 38 long-term and post-acute care facilities, four behavioral health centers and two large medical laboratories connected to the CORHIO HIE. Additionally, CORHIO is contracted with and in the process of connecting 12 additional hospitals, more than 900 additional office-based providers, 33 additional long-term and post-acute care providers and seven 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. 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.

About University of Colorado Hospital
University of Colorado Hospital is the Rocky Mountain region's leading academic medical center.  UCH is best known as an innovator in patient care and often as one of the first hospitals to bring new medicine to the patients' bedside.  University HealthSystem Consortium named UCH the #1 Academic Medical Center in quality in the nation in both 2011 and 2012, and U.S. News & World Report named University of Colorado Hospital the best hospital in Colorado in 2012.  UCH is one of five Colorado hospitals that make up University of Colorado Health.  The hospital's physicians are affiliated with the University of Colorado School of Medicine, part of the University of Colorado system.  Based on the expansive Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, CO, the hospital is where patient care, research and education converge to establish the future of health care delivery.  For additional information, please visit the University of Colorado Hospital media page.

SOURCE CORHIO