Health Information Exchange Will Allow Patients to Share Medical Information

currentcare is a Web-based application that allows physicians to sign in, be authenticated, and access laboratory information from three different labs in the state as well as information about medication history from retail pharmacies statewide. Provided the HIE receives stimulus funds, providers will have the ability to pull information out of the exchange and download it into their EMRs rather than having to read information through a Web viewer, Adams says.

Physician offices don't need an EMR to participate in the HIE, Adams says. "EMRs aren't interoperating with each other. It would involve numerous, expensive connections. Instead, they operate with a center into which all of the data flows versus everyone having to connect with everyone else."

In an effort to ensure the privacy and security of the PHI exchanged through the HIE, Rhode Island passed the Rhode Island Health Information Exchange Act of 2008 that took effect March 1, 2009. The legislation includes numerous explicit consumer safeguards, clear language that participation in the HIE is voluntary, strict penalties for misuse of the system, and created an HIE Advisory Commission that will make recommendations to the Rhode Island Department of Health regarding the use of confidential PHI used in the exchange.

Patients not only choose whether to participate in currentcare, but they also control which providers have access to the information as well as in what scenarios (i.e., emergency versus routine versus both) providers can access that information.

The Rhode Island Quality Institute recently started efforts to educate and enroll consumers in currentcare, which now has 2,300 members. Adams says it will continue to grow. "We think this will save lives. We think it's much more efficient that the current paper-based system, and that it reduces complications and the chances that people experience a medical error."