The DC Health Information Exchange

Residents in the District of Columbia access health care by navigating a complex system of providers, payers, government agencies, and facilities that are often disconnected from one another. Technology, such as electronic health records (EHRs), has been widely adopted by District providers, but has not always translated to better patient experiences and improved outcomes.

DHCF leads the implementation of HIE to support the District’s goal to provide actionable health-related information whenever and wherever it is needed, to support patient-centered care and improve health outcomes.

HIE provides some of the best tools to connect health system partners and gives providers the right information at the right time regardless of location, organization, or EHR. HIEs aggregate information from multiple sources and display specific health information for specific purposes to improve individual care, population health management, and the public’s health.

Health IT and HIE Connect a Disconnected Health System

DHCF’s Health IT program helps to connect a disconnected health care system by leading the implementation of HIE in the District, setting standards for HIE entities operating here, and funding the development of new technology to support information exchange. The District does not operate its own HIE, instead it partners with local and regional organizations through the DC HIE.

The DC HIE

The DC HIE is a system of HIE entities that meet common privacy and security standards to support the secure electronic exchange of health information.

HIE entities participating in the DC HIE will attest to meeting certain privacy, security, use, and access requirements. DHCF will also select one of these HIE entities to serve as a designated HIE to provide core exchange services to District providers. The DC HIE is guided by the DC HIE Policy Board, an advisory body, appointed by the Mayor, that provides recommendations to DHCF.

DHCF Supports the HIE Infrastructure in the District

In 2016, the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP) was awarded a competitive grant to design and develop new HIE services for District providers. CRISP collaborated with the DC Primary Care Association, HealthEC, Zane Networks, and other partners to utilize resources from their work in Maryland and West Virginia, to implement the following services for District providers:

• Encounter Notification Service (ENS) – Customizable by practice, the CRISP ENS sends real-time alerts to providers when their patients are admitted or discharged from regional hospitals and emergency departments, and may be customized by practice.
• Patient Care Snapshot and Query Portal – The Patient Care Snapshot provides health information such as a patient’s recent visits, procedures, and medications, in addition to a detailed list of organizations, providers, and care managers who have an existing relationship with the patient. The Query Portal offers a more in-depth clinical information to providers on their patients from across institutions.
• eCQM Tool and Dashboard - An electronic clinical quality measurement tool and dashboard for assessing performance against key measures. The tool allows District providers to calculate and report clinical quality measures (CQMs), which are tools used to ensure that health care providers are delivering effective, safe, and timely care to patients.

For more information on how to access these HIE services please visit the CRISP DC website.

For More Information on the DC HIE, please contact [email protected].