The Big Bend Regional Healthcare Information Organization (BBRHIO), a health information exchange network serving nine counties in North Florida, has been recognized in a report issued recently by the National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) as one of 12 successful leaders in the emerging digital integration of medical records.

The report, “Secrets of HIE Success Revealed: Lessons from the Leaders,” was released Aug. 2 by NeHC.  It features case studies of 12 sustainable, mature health information exchange (HIE) organizations from across the U.S.  The HIEs cited represent a diverse group of organizations, including for-profit entities, non-profit entities and a government agency.

“With a new environment of increasing accountability in healthcare, the need for effective, sustainable HIE to improve quality, care coordination, and cost-effectiveness is becoming even more important,” said Kate Berry, CEO of NeHC. “This report distills the critical dimensions required for a successful and lasting HIE operation and is intended to contribute to a cohesive national roadmap for nationwide HIE. We are pleased to showcase such distinguished organizations and we believe others will learn from the triumphs and challenges of these 12 HIEs.”

The BBRHIO was founded in 2005 to develop an HIE that would connect and exchange the data repositories of competing organizations with disparate electronic medical record systems. It launched BigBendHealth.com in 2008 as a collaboration with the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County (EDC) and Workforce Florida to serve as an employment portal for healthcare jobs in the Big Bend region. Since then, it has grown into a fully-integrated health information exchange, allowing for the networking and sharing of patient records and medical information by hospitals, physicians, laboratories, pharmacies and insurers.

BBRHIO serves nine counties in the Big Bend area of the Florida Panhandle around Tallahassee, including Gadsden, Franklin, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Wakulla, Taylor and Dixie counties.  It currently provides exchange of clinical records for approximately 500,000 individuals in its master patient index (MPI), a number expected to grow to about 550,000 by the end of 2012. There are about 650 active credentialed portal users, with 800 expected to be participating by the end of 2012. Two area hospitals currently contribute data to the HIE, with three more expected to join in 2012.

“We’ve come a long way over the pioneering past six years, which would not have been possible without the courage and vision of North Florida’s medical community, and we’re excited about our growth expectations,” said Allen Byington, executive director of BBRHIO. “We are especially proud to have been recognized as a national leader among HIE organizations and hope that sharing the challenges and opportunities we’ve faced on our journey will help the several hundred new HIE efforts that are just now getting underway across the country,” said Byington.

In addition to Big Bend RHIO, the report profiles the success stories and “lessons learned” of 11 other RHIOs, including:

• Availity, Jacksonville, Fla.
• HealthBridge, Cincinnati, Ohio
• HealthInfoNet, Portland, Maine
• Inland Northwest Health Services, Spokane, Wash.
• MedVirginia, Richmond, Va.
• Quality Health Network, Grand Junction, Colo.
• Rochester RHIO, Rochester, N.Y.
• Sandlot, Fort Worth, Texas
• SMRTNET, Cherokee County, Okla.
• THINC, Fishkill, N.Y.
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.

To access the full report, go to: www.nationalehealth.org/HIEleaderlessons.  For more information about Big Bend RHIO, go to www.BigBendHealth.com, call 850) 702-0365 or email zfinn@bbrhio.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:Rick Oppenheim
roppenheim@rboa.com
(850) 386-9100
August 9, 2011

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About Big Bend RHIO

Big Bend RHIO is a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) not-for-profit that has deployed BigBendHealth.com, a first-of-its-kind health resource that brings with it economic benefits, a connected workforce, improved medical care and a breakthrough in exchange of clinical records. It serves as an essential communication resource for health care in the Capital region, with many resources offered in one place. BigBendHealth.com is the largest active HIE in Florida with millions of records for over 500,000 unique patients in the system and processing over 600,000 new messages a month. BigBendHealth.com initiatives involve every major component of North Florida’s local healthcare system from physicians’ offices to HMOs to hospitals, laboratories and pharmacies. BigBendHealth.com is a partner in the delivery of safer, more cost-effective healthcare, placing its community at the head of the line for federal and state research dollars and making Tallahassee a model for other communities seeking to control the cost and improve the quality of local healthcare. BigBendHealth.com is anchored in Tallahassee, Florida and represents Leon and surrounding rural counties.

About National eHealth Collaborative

National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) is a public-private partnership that enables secure and interoperable nationwide health information exchange to advance health and improve health care.  Working in conjunction with its partners, NeHC engages stakeholders in a collaborative and consensus-driven way to realize common goals that lead to transformative change.  NeHC reaches broadly into all sectors of healthcare and health IT, employs open and inclusive methods, and makes its outcomes broadly available for continued improvement.  This philosophy and approach allows NeHC to offer a uniquely balanced perspective that leverages diverse points of view and provides the essential public-private platform for collaboratively pursuing solutions to universal trusted and effective health information exchange. NeHC is a cooperative agreement partner of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).