The Southeast Regional HIT-HIE Collaboration project has released a report on incorporating health information exchange into disaster preparedness efforts, Clinical Innovation & Technology reports (Walsh, Clinical Innovation & Technology, 9/25).
Background on Collaboration
The collaboration began in 2010 and is supported by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (Goedert, Health Data Management, 9/25). It includes representatives from:
Report Details
For the report, the collaboration examined the challenges of accessing health records and coordinating medical data for patients displaced by a disaster.
The group examined current and planned technical infrastructure in participating states, with the goal of including disaster planning earlier in health information exchange projects (Clinical Innovation & Technology, 9/25).
Report Recommendations
The collaboration recommended that states:
- Consider a phase-based approach to building interstate health information exchange capabilities;
- Develop standard procedures to share electronic health data across state lines before a disaster occurs;
- Encourage local health information networks to expand the number of sources from which health data can be exchanged;
- Establish a waiver of liability for release of records during a disaster and shift state privacy and security requirements to federal HIPAA standards during a disaster; and
- Review their disaster response and governance policies to assess whether they address the sharing of health information during a disaster (Health Data Management, 9/25).