What is DC HIE?
DC HIE stands for District of Columbia Health Information Exchange. DC HIE is the state designated health Information exchange (HIE) that serves the District of Columbia. DC HIE is one of fifty-six (56) state designated HIEs in the United States and its territories tasked with improving care coordination and lowering costs through the use of health information technology. The District of Columbia Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) was awarded a grant from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to create DC HIE. DC HIE is staffed and managed by DHCF. Because DC HIE is state designated, it is not aligned exclusively with any hospital or health system or electronic health record (E.H.R.) platform. DC HIE services are open to all clinical providers.
DC HIE is governed by a twenty-one (21) member volunteer Policy Board appointed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia. The Board includes representatives from District-based hospitals and health systems, health centers and District of Columbia Government agencies.
All meetings are open to the public and agendas are published one week in advance in the District of Columbia Register.
How Does DC HIE Help Clinical Providers?
- Reduced health care costs
- Achievement of Meaningful Use objectives
- Access to valuable clinical data
- Improved monitoring of patient movement and disease management
- Improved patient satisfaction and provider experience
Access to an established and robust health information architecture to set the stage for future opportunities such as:
- Cross-facility utilization and readmissions
- Opportunities for trend and pattern analysis
- “Frequent flyer” identification (high utilizers)
- Care management platforms
- Advanced financial and clinical analytics
Why Should I Be Interested in DC HIE?
HIEs are rapidly becoming the best way to transition and coordinate care of patients across EHR systems and state boundaries. Providers can receive information from another provider who may be outside of your medical network or even outside the District, such as in the states of Maryland or Virginia. The goal of DC HIE is to create a longitudinal view of your patients’ health record, which allows providers to better care for patients by knowing their medical and disease history. This results in reduced redundancy, lower costs, faster treatment and better patient outcomes.