First Post-Acute Care Organization Joins Western Pennsylvania’s First and Largest Health Information Exchange

True to its 85-year old tradition of innovation and collaboration, Presbyterian SeniorCare® has become the first post-acute organization to join ClinicalConnect Health Information Exchange (HIE), western Pennsylvania’s first and largest exchange enabling the secure and timely sharing of digital healthcare records between participating hospitals and other providers.

Established nearly two years ago, ClinicalConnect HIE, securely provides information to care providers, where they need it, when they need it and how they need it, in a consistent and reliable manner. With more than 8 million unique records and over 1.86 million patients participating in the exchange, ClinicalConnect HIE initially focused on acute care providers in the western Pennsylvania region and their affiliated physicians.

With the recent addition of the region’s largest eldercare provider, Presbyterian SeniorCare, to its network, ClinicalConnect advances its vision to allow non-acute providers to directly exchange data, including nursing homes, independent physician practices, rehabilitation and home health agencies, imaging centers, clinical laboratories and other types of health care providers.

“As a nonprofit uniquely guided by our faith-based mission, we are always looking for new ways to enhance quality of life and quality of care so older adults can live their lives positively,” said Presbyterian SeniorCare CEO and President Paul Winkler. “As a member of ClinicalConnect HIE, we will be able to provide even better care coordination in our personal care and skilled nursing communities through improved communication and quality of care across multiple healthcare settings and providers. This gives us yet another way to continue to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital readmissions as well as avoid duplication of services.”

“We are proud to have Presbyterian SeniorCare participate in ClinicalConnect HIE as our first post-acute care organization, helping to deliver coordinated, high-quality care for patients in Western Pennsylvania,” said ClinicalConnect HIE President Chris Carmody.  “This new partnership further demonstrates our success in connecting a dispersed healthcare community for the benefit of all patients, including our most vulnerable seniors.”

Over the past decade, Presbyterian SeniorCare has mounted an ambitious, phased effort to transition from a time-intensive paper documentation and charting system at its six owned and managed campuses to a comprehensive and secure electronic health record and documentation system for residents based on a secure, wireless technology platform.

Today at Presbyterian SeniorCare, the electronic system allows customized, simultaneous access for every discipline, integrates the clinical and financial systems for appropriate billing, reduces the entry of redundant information, provides a single point of reference for every chart, and has improved staff accuracy, quality and timeliness through the collection of assessment information at the point of care.

With additional technology investments, such as participating in ClinicalConnect HIE, Presbyterian SeniorCare aims to maintain or reduce its skilled-nursing to hospital readmission rate, which has been trending significantly below the national 30-day average.

Winkler noted, “We’re excited to be part of the wave of the future and collaborate and share our experiences with the region’s network of faith-based long-term care providers. Our groundbreaking work with ClinicalConnect HIE ultimately will benefit not only the hundreds of nursing care residents served daily at our Washington and Oakmont campuses, but also pave the way for older adults across the broader continuum of senior living and care communities to benefit.”

The high concentration today, and predicted future growth, of individuals who are 65 years of age or older in our region as well as the increasing economic pressures and funding challenges for the aging services sector, provides a strong impetus for all providers across the healthcare delivery system to harness technology to improve efficiency, cost-effectiveness and care quality. ClinicalConnect HIE incorporates the use of health information technology’s interoperability standards, which provide the foundation for standardized transfer/referral, medications, labs results and discharge documents, all of which are critical in the post-acute care environment.

Access to a patient’s medical record through ClinicalConnect HIE depends upon a patient’s consent to participate during registration at participating providers which include Altoona Regional Health System, ACMH Hospital, Butler Health System, The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh, Excela Health, Heritage Valley Health System, Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Pediatric Alliance, P.C., St. Clair Memorial Hospital, Washington Health System and UPMC.

For additional information, visit www.srcare.org and www.clinicalconnecthie.com.