etHIN and Georgia Complete Connection to Support State-to-State Exchange of Health Information

KNOXVILLE, TN – October 15, 2018 – East Tennessee Health Information Network (etHIN) today announced the recent success of an electronic connection with Georgia Health Information Network (GaHIN), Georgia’s statewide health information exchange (HIE). etHIN also has connections to HIEs in other states through the eHealth Exchange and the Strategic Health Information Collaborative (SHIEC) HIE-to-HIE network, Patient Centered Data Home (PCDH).

“Connecting with GaHIN expands secure exchange of patient information for our patients who receive medical treatment in Georgia and vice versa,” said Leigh Sterling, etHIN Executive Director. “Improving real time access to medical information at the point of care helps providers make more informed diagnoses and deliver potentially life-saving treatments in emergency situations. Providers in both states can now seamlessly obtain a more comprehensive version of a patient’s medical history, including diagnoses, lab tests, radiology reports and images, medications, allergies, physicians’ notes, and other crucial information.”

The exchange of patient-specific medical information between the two states supports several use cases, including the relocation of residents between cities, tourism to popular vacation destinations, seasonal addresses in two states, and patients traveling from one state to the other for specialty care, such as pediatrics or oncology. This access to medical history and pertinent patient information from the neighboring states can help improve care quality and save time by providing critical information at the point of care during both non-urgent and emergency situations.

About East Tennessee Health Information Exchange
etHIN is a non-profit Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) established in 2005 to serve the needs of patients and healthcare providers in East Tennessee. In 2011, etHIN launched a HIE infrastructure that allows authorized healthcare providers to securely access their patients’ information. etHIN’s purpose is to manage a secure healthcare information network that is used by authorized healthcare providers to exchange data, support improving patient outcomes, and helps lower the cost of healthcare through effective electronic data sharing. etHIN’s community members, now spanning more than 20 counties, include local hospital systems, physicians, and other community healthcare entities that provide healthcare services to more than 1.4 million patients. For more information about etHIN, visit www.ethin.org.