Vendor Neutral Archiving: Learning from a Colorado Success Story.

The exchange of information through the electronic health records (EHR) process doesn’t have to be a nightmare. A Colorado critical access hospital proved that recently when it connected with its EHR system to a health information exchange (HIE) called the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization, or CORHIO.

Estes Park Medical Center, the first of its kind in the state to join an HIE, made the successful connection in no small part due to vendor neutral archiving. Storing, transferring and sharing medical data, including medical imaging, can be a hassle without the use of vendor neutral archiving. Some hospitals have a problem transferring data from one department to another, let alone from one hospital to another. However, with vendor neutral archiving, the process is smooth and easy because the information is shared in a non-specific format, meaning your hospital won’t have a problem sharing information with a hospital that runs a different EHR system.

There are more than 2,000 hospitals like Estes Park Medical Center throughout the nation. They serve as a vital piece of the healthcare puzzle in rural communities that would otherwise have to travel many miles to seek out medical attention. It is important that all data captured at the rural hospitals be shared with specialists in other parts of the region or even other parts of the country, in some cases. That’s why the vendor neutral archiving setup is so important. When a patient is transferred to a different hospital, their record can be sent in advance. Or, if radiological imaging needs to be viewed by a specialist in a different location, vendor neutral archiving allows for those images to be transferred without delay.

The people who set up CORHIO got it right as it is now considered among the largest health information networks established in the U.S. All physicians and other caregivers who are part of the HIE have real-time access to the information they need to provide better care to patients. This includes everything from lab results to radiological imaging. At this point, there are 36 hospitals in CORHIO. More than 2,000 doctors are able to get quick and easy access to the records they require.

A report out of Healthcare Integration Strategies last year offers some insights into the role that vendor neutral archiving plays. The author of the report, tech expert Joe Marion, said VNA technology is an excellent tool for hitting objectives related to data management and accessibility. He also said VNA technology offers real-world capabilities and enormous potential when it is used to handle hospital data that is unstructured, especially when medical images are also involved.

OffSite Image Management, Inc., is acutely aware of the power of VNA and has used its VNA solutions to bring tremendous advantages to HIEs in Michigan and Kansas. Just like Colorado’s state health records system, OffSite’s work with Kansas and Michigan has produced equally successful solutions. To find out how you can benefit from our VNA solutions and our health image exchange solutions, contact us today.