As the director of an orthopedic health system in Connecticut, my number one priority is to ensure that our patients always receive the highest quality of care possible. But as much as achieving this relies on our physicians and care teams, it also requires the ability to access all relevant patient health records at the time of treatment.
Apart from those who have had the unfortunate experience of having their care delayed—or, even worse, mishandled— because of inefficient or incomplete access to medical records, this is a far bigger issue than many might realize. Breakdowns in sharing medical information significantly affect patient safety and contribute to higher healthcare costs.
Fortunately, progress has been made in sharing patient records between diverse healthcare providers. And after integrating our systems with Connecticut’s nonprofit health information exchange, Connie, I have witnessed first-hand how transformative this capability can be for patients and their providers throughout the state.
Transformation in action
At my practice, Advanced Orthopedics New England, many of the conditions we treat are diagnosed through advanced imaging solutions, such as X-rays, MRIs and CT scans. Accessing not just the results of these scans but the actual images and relevant medical history is vital to accurately determining the cause and extent of an injury. This allows us to make informed, data-driven decisions about next steps in care.
Before Connecticut introduced a centralized solution for sharing this information digitally via Connie, our statewide clinics and surgeons faced significant challenges. Instead of simply accessing a patient’s previous scans from their electronic medical record, our staff often had to fish through physical files to find copies patients had to deliver themselves. They also spent a lot of time calling other clinics to have the information sent over by fax —or even worse, by mail.
This ridiculously old-fashioned and time-consuming process caused unnecessary delays for vulnerable patients. After all, people come through our door because they’re in pain and need our help. The last thing they want is to fill out extensive medical history paperwork and wait weeks for us to obtain them or drive across town themselves, transferring copies between providers.
Thankfully, it’s now been two years since we connected to Connie, and we encounter this issue much less frequently. We’ve been able to access hundreds of patient imaging results directly from other healthcare organizations linked to Connie with the click of a button.
This transformation has allowed us to make faster, better-informed care decisions for our patients. It also provides significant relief to our surgeons and care teams, who can now focus more on providing care rather than spending excessive time obtaining medical records.
A new paradigm for information sharing
Ours is just one of many success stories as Connie becomes an increasingly crucial resource for collaboration between healthcare facilities across Connecticut.
Research shows that using a centralized health exchange can reduce the amount of time patients spend in the hospital by more than 10%. It can also dramatically reduce the chances of an emergency department visit or being readmitted to a hospital, improving patients’ health and safety.
This safety element cannot be stressed enough. Inefficient or incomplete access to patient records can pose serious threats. Prescribing the wrong medication can trigger an adverse reaction. Emergency room physicians may face split-second decisions about an unconscious patient without having access to their complete medical history.
To date, more than 3,100 organizations are exchanging information through Connie, which is an excellent start. However, only seven organizations are contributing radiology images. Exchanges like Connie —especially those that have unique features for image sharing— only succeed if providers enroll and share critical information with other providers in the state.
We can build a future of healthcare where immediate access to patient records is the norm only by working together. This way, patients can always trust their providers to make informed decisions tailored to their unique medical histories.
Jeremy Fournier is the Director of Practice Operations for Advanced Orthopedics New England. He currently serves as a member on Connie’s Data Governance Committee.