Louisiana Public Health Information Exchange: Communicable Disease Pilot

Background:
LA Department of Health and Hospitals, Louisiana State University - Health Care Services Division (HCSD) and the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) have partnered to utilize health information exchange to improve treatment of STDs in Louisiana.

Objective:
Develop a system supporting the effective, rapid and secure exchange of pertinent health information between the public hospital in New Orleans, operated by LSU Health Care Services Division (HCSD), community-based health care providers and Office of Public Health (OPH); and reduce rates of communicable disease by increasing the number of opportunities for transmission-interrupting interventions, thus improving rates of communicable diseases.

Method:
Nearly 40 experts in clinical management, surveillance and infection control, information systems, and ethicists from OPH, HCSD and LPHI established guiding principles for LaPHIE, organized work groups, and decided on objectives and their targeted completion dates. The work groups are as follows: Executive Team, Coordinating Team, Services Integration, Information Exchange, and Compliance and Ethics Work Groups.

Result:
Accomplished
• Established mechanisms to ensure clear communication among pilot participants.
• Refined and maintained governance and workgroup structures for Louisiana Public Health Information Exchange (LaPHIE).
• Assessed the process, information and data-related challenges contributing to a high communicable disease burden in Louisiana.
• Assessed the barriers to exchanging health information between health care provider and public health entities.
• Defined the data elements of value for supporting provider and public health practitioner workflow.
Ongoing
• Establish the terms under which personal health information (PHI) will be shared across participating provider organizations (i.e., policies and procedures).
• Leverage regionally developed Public Health Information Network resources and national standards and specifications to facilitate the exchange, storage and utilization of health information.

Conclusion:
Health Information Exchange can be a useful tool to improve STD treatment.

Implications:
A compelling business case exists for implementation of health information exchange.