SCHIEx helps create secure method for transporting medical records across state lines
October 3, 2018FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For additional information, contact:
Wyman Bowers
803.335.4200 ext. 5
SCHIEx helps create secure method for transporting medical records across state lines
COLUMBIA, SC: What happens when a natural disaster brings a hyper focus on an issue? Things get done. Within six days, what normally takes months to accomplish was completed.
On Monday morning as Hurricane Florence was approaching the North Carolina/South Carolina coast, the South Carolina Health Information Exchange (SCHIEx) and the North Carolina Health Information Exchange (NCHIE) set everything else aside and intensely focused on establishing a connection between the two health information exchanges. Why? Because a patient’s medical record is vital to the continued treatment of that patient, no matter if that patient is in North Carolina or South Carolina.
SCHIEx and NCHIE, in their respective states, provide a platform for medical records to be transported between healthcare facilities. Many of the most sophisticated health care systems still rely on a fax machine to send medical records from one physician to another. Health information exchanges provide a secure transport mechanism to do away with this dated necessity.
“It’s amazing what can happen when everyone gets on the same page,” said Wyman Bowers, CEO of SCHIEx. “Within a few hours of reaching out to one another, we had agreed to make this a top priority and to getting the connection completed, as quickly as possible.” The public health ramifications of getting this connection, and others with border states like Georgia, are critical to the state. Though much damage has been done as a result of Hurricane Florence, this is one bright spot.”
For more information on SCHIEx, please contact Wyman Bowers via email wbowers@schiex.org or via telephone 803.335.4200 x 5.
About SCHIEx
SCHIEx is South Carolina’s Health Information Exchange—a network of connections that allows healthcare professionals and patients to appropriately access, and securely share, a patient’s vital medical information electronically. The exchange, governed by a nonprofit board, enables physicians across South Carolina to view the patient information they need to make well-informed decisions. By providing real-time access to life-saving data, SCHIEx (pronounced SKY-eks) is improving the quality, safety and efficiency of health care delivery in the Palmetto State. For more information, go to http://schiex.org/.