Healthcare Information Exchange

    The medical field constantly relies on the latest technology to provide the best healthcare. Now two Utica hospitals are upgrading communication for the benefit of patients nationwide. St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and Faxton St. Lukes Healthcare are now connected to a health information exchange. Doctor Daniel Kopp says, this new technology will provide better healthcare to patients. "It allows us to decrease duplication of test and procedures, typically if a patients is referred from our hospital or St. Elizabeth's to a hospital is Syracuse, duplication of the images or medical records have to be forwarded, so that's a cost and an expense to do that. Now these records can be accessed directly by the consultant." Patients can now ask doctors for second opinions simply by calling and asking. Doctors will then review the case online through health-e connections. According to Doctor Kopp, cost cutting is only a small benefit to this information exchange. "Cost cutting is going to result from this but I think the real improvement is in the quality of the care, there will be less opportunity for error in terms of trying to read a copied records, signatures and things like that are often difficult to interpret even if you have it in front of you. But by reviewing the medical records summaries through this process, I think they will be much more clear and enable the physicians to zero in on the exact problem." Given the system is all online it could raise security issues. Bob Gillette this information is safe. "It compares to your internet banking and credit card sites. It has the same principle; it's a secure site, and HTTPS site. And you notice it has the little safeguard at the bottom so you know it's a secure site." St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and Faxton St. Luke's Healthcare are now two of fifteen hospitals connected across eleven counties in Central New York.