An ongoing clinical study of the Carolina eHealth Alliance in South Carolina has found that one emergency department involved with the patient health information exchange has already seen a savings of $286,605.
The patient HIE allows clinicians to locate information such as discharge summaries, lab or radiology results, medication and drug allergies more effectively, especially if a patient is incapacitated or unable to provide medical history. Findings from the clinical study show the patient HIE saves critical time and reduces costs to patients:
• The annual estimated savings for the same emergency department could be $859,815.
• The median time saved is 95 minutes per patient.
The Alliance recently finished expanding to 11 emergency departments of the major Charleston, S.C.-area hospitals. Carolina eHealth Alliance's next goal is to expand to more than 875 primary and ambulatory care physicians by the end of 2012.
AHIMA Announces Award for Health Information Delivery Excellence
The patient HIE allows clinicians to locate information such as discharge summaries, lab or radiology results, medication and drug allergies more effectively, especially if a patient is incapacitated or unable to provide medical history. Findings from the clinical study show the patient HIE saves critical time and reduces costs to patients:
• The annual estimated savings for the same emergency department could be $859,815.
• The median time saved is 95 minutes per patient.
The Alliance recently finished expanding to 11 emergency departments of the major Charleston, S.C.-area hospitals. Carolina eHealth Alliance's next goal is to expand to more than 875 primary and ambulatory care physicians by the end of 2012.
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