HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE REFERENCE MANUAL

Health Information Exchange Reference Manual
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Reference Manual
Health information exchange refers to electronically mobilizing healthcare data across organizations that are located in the same locality, community or health care facility. The HIE can also be described as an organization established to exchange or share healthcare information (Shanholtzer & COL, 2012). Its purpose is to allow nurses, pharmacists, patients and doctors to effectively access and share the client’s medical information through electrical systems for improved quality and speed of patient care. HIE is preferable to other systems of sharing patient information due to its effectiveness in minimizing medical errors (Health.IT.gov, 2016). Additionally, HIE is fast and cost effective thus, most healthcare facilities are able to access and encourage their employees to utilize the system.
Forms of HIE
Direct exchange; this form of HIE provides physicians and other users with a platform to electronically receive and send information. Some of the information shared through direct exchange includes laboratory orders, discharge summaries, and referrals. The information is shared with a network of healthcare providers that are involved in the treatment of a specific patient. The communication channel applied must be secure, encrypted and reliable for effective messaging (HealthIT.gov, 2016). Direct exchange can also be applied in sending information about immunization statistics of a region or hospital to government health organizations in addition to sending data to Medicaid and Medicare companies.

Query-based exchange; this is a kind of HIE that allows healthcare providers to research for clinical sources and refer patients (HealthIT.gov, 2016). However, it is commonly applied by physicians that want to recommend unplanned treatment or care. Other situations where the Query-based exchange is applied include emergency rooms to access medication, problem lists and recent radiology data that can be used to adjust the current treatment procedures. Also, the query-based exchange is used when obtaining information about a pregnant patient to identify the previous care programs and formulate informed decisions regarding the safety of the pregnancy.
Consumer-mediated exchange; this is a type of HIE that allows the patients to access their health information through an online-based platform. The system is convenient and makes the patient responsible for their health care by sharing relevant information to concerned physicians or doctors (HealthIT.gov, 2016). It enables patients to identify inconsistencies in the treatment information and make necessary corrections. Additionally, patients can track and monitor their health through the system.
HIE Impact on Patient Care
HIE has an impact on patient care that is demonstrated through the following ways: Physicians that have treated the same patient share information (Shanholtzer & COL, 2012). They consult each other on patient response to the administered medication; in this regard, the physicians adjust the medicine to be prescribed and conduct necessary tests to establish the recuperation progress. HIE thus prevents the duplication of medicine and makes the care process more focused on the patient needs.
HIE improves patient care through minimizing the errors made during billing and/ or prescription. The patient can observe the details of receipts regarding the medication drugs and the actual prices in the chemists through the online platform. Errors such as overcharge and undercharge can be rectified within the facility such that patients are charged actual market prices; this improves patient care as biases are regulated and efficiency enhanced.
HIE facilitates online training of patients to care for themselves or other sick family members. In this regard, the patient is able to identify the type of care and treatment he or she expects from the responsible hospital (Shanholtzer & COL, 2012). In case the physician goes beyond the law and ethical provisions the patient is able to monitor the process and report to the authorities; this makes the doctors more careful and ensures they offer quality services and patients receive improved care.
Examples Demonstrating the Benefits of HIE
Some of the HIE examples include when a patient has been diagnosed with lung cancer, he or she is treated in steps or stages that may result in inconsistencies; the patient may be treated in different hospitals within the country or at some stage referred to another country (Hersh et al., 2015). The HIE in this regard provides the historical information facilitating treatment and care of the patient in any hospital.
Hersh et al., (2015) also argues that when a patient with Hepatitis does not respond to a certain drug that results in side effects, the HIF is used in collecting medical histories that help in establishing the type of drugs to avoid in the prescription process. Therefore, the physicians are able to offer effective treatment with minimum side effects.

References
Hersh, W. R., Totten, A. M., Eden, K. B., Devine, B., Gorman, P., Kassakian, S. Z., … & McDonagh, M. S. (2015). Outcomes from health information exchange: systematic review and future research needs. JMIR medical informatics, 3(4).Health.IT.gov . (2016). Why is health information exchange important? Health.IT.gov. Retrieved on 12/11/16, from https://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/faqs/why-health-information-exchange-important
HealthIT.gov. (2016). Health Information Exchange (HIE). HealthIT.gov. Retrieved on 12/11/16, from https://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/health-information-exchange/what-hie#directed_exchange
Shanholtzer, M. B., & COL, L. F. C. (2012). Integrated Electronic Health Records: A Worktext for Greenway Medical Technologies’ PrimeSUITE. McGraw-Hill.