HIEs Exchange Data in NHIN Test

HDM Breaking News, September 19, 2008

MedPlus has completed a test of patient data sharing among health information exchanges as part of the Nationwide Health Information Network’s trial implementations core content test.

The Cincinnati-based vendor was one of several technology partners for nine HIEs awarded federal contracts totaling $22.5 million a year ago to conduct the tests.

The federally-sponsored NHIN is working to establish a nationwide infrastructure to connect providers, consumers and others involved in health care.

Cincinnati-based MedPlus, the health care software unit of Quest Diagnostics, completed data exchanges among its HIE clients and other NHIN network participants to help demonstrate that the HIEs are interoperable, company executives say. In the test, an HIE identified a common patient with another HIE and then requested and received a patient summary using a continuity of care document, also known as an HITSP C32 transaction.

MedPlus is providing infrastructure to three NHIN participants: the New York Clinical Information Exchange, the Long Beach Network for Health in Southern California and the New Mexico Health Information Collaborative.

Further tests are slated for the fourth quarter. More information is available at hhs.gov/healthit.

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