Point of Care
The Point of Care Inquiry System
CORHIO has successfully completed its demonstration project of a
secure and confidential health information exchange. The intent of
the health information exchange pilot was to support clinicians in
making more informed treatment decisions and reduce unnecessary and
costly tests. The following four partners
participated in this demonstration project:
- The Children's Hospital
- Denver Health & Hospital Authority
- KaiserPermanente Colorado
- University of Colorado Hospital
The unique pilot project was a tremendous accomplishment through
which Colorado developed the technical capacity to effectively and
securely link large, complex systems together. This valuable
experience will serve as a strong foundation for the development
and implementation of state-wide health information exchange.
The pilot, called the Point of Care Inquiry System, allowed 500
emergency department clinicians in metro Denver to find critical
patient information quickly across four separate electronic medical
records. Doctors could access medical history, medications, x-rays
and problem lists from any of the partner organizations.
Funding
The Point of Care Inquiry system was a 5-year, $5 million
project funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality (AHRQ).
Outcomes
Initial evaluations suggest the system helped reduce potential
medication errors and enabled improvements in care continuity,
particularly for safety net patients.
The demonstration project offers the framework for the policies,
procedures and agreements necessary for long-term health
information exchange across Colorado.
As a result of this effort, local health care leaders and
stakeholders also learned more about the most effective ways
to implement highly sophisticated master patient indices, a tool
that will be necessary as CORHIO scales to
provide interoperability through statewide health information
exchange.
