Health Information Exchanges

 
HIE stands for Health Information Exchange. An HIE allows medical records to be shared electronically. HIE relies on using networking technologies to enable your doctor to share records with another health care provider over the Internet, instead of by fax. As a result, doctors participating in an HIE may have a much more complete picture of your medical history to work from, even if they have only had limited or even in some cases, no previous contact with you as a patient.

WPF has done a lot of work on HIE privacy. Our work is linked below and included in the blog posts.

World Privacy Forum’s HIE Tips, Glossary, and FAQ for Patients:

This FAQ, glossary, and tipsheet about Health Information Exchanges is designed to work in tandem with our HIE map and directory of California HIEs, available here. If you have questions about HIPAA beyond those answered here, please see our extensive resource, A Patient’s Guide to HIPAA.

WPF’s Interactive Map of HIE’s in California:

This map identifies Health Information Exchanges in California. HIEs are an increasingly popular way for hospitals, pharmacies, labs, and emergency room physicians to share patient information. Some HIEs just share information within one hospital network, some share information across many hospitals or physicians in a region, and some HIEs share information across the state. If your health information is being shared through an HIE, your lab test results, medications, medical history, or other clinical information related to your health care may be included in the sharing. It’s important for you to know when your records are being shared, where, and what controls you have over that.

More HIE information are in the blog posts below.

WHO Health Data Collaborative Meeting: high level overview

Last week, the World Health Organization held an in-person meeting of its health data collaborative leadership, its first face-to-face meeting of this group in four years. WPF attended as a constituency co-chair. Attendees included: members of the Ministries of Health and partner representation from Kenya, Malawi, Cameroon, Botswana, and Nepal; regional institutes’ representatives from KEMRI Welcome

Video: What does “opt in” or “opt out” mean in a health information exchange?

This video is part 8 of a 14-part video series on health privacy and health information exchanges  Video: I just read the privacy policy at the doctor’s office, and it said that I would have to opt out of an HIE. What does that mean exactly? Opt in and opt out are terms that are

Some Californians receive emails from health insurer with personal details exposed: potential CalINDEX implications?

This week the New York Times reported that some California members of health insurer Anthem Blue Cross received disturbing emails with exposed subject lines related to their sensitive medical information. From the article: “But the emails’ subject lines included member-specific demographic details like age range and language. They also listed possible medical screening tests —

Video: Can I delete my files from a Health Information Exchange?

You can certainly ask to have your records deleted, but it may not be that easy. After a health record has been created and exchanged via an HIE, how your record is managed in that HIE is going to vary considerably. But generally speaking, it is rare for any health care provider to outright delete a health file.