ChathamHealthLink FAQs
What is a Health Information Exchange (HIE)?
An HIE allows health care providers and patients to access and share a patie
nt’s medical information electronically via Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Sharing a patient’s EMR which contains medical and clinical data gathered in one health care provider’s office improves the speed, quality, safety and cost of patient care and better informs decision-making at the point of care. An HIE helps health care providers avoid readmissions and medication errors and improve diagnoses.
What is ChathamHealthLink?
In 2008, the Planning Council established ChathamHealthLink (CHL), Georgia’s first HIE. CHL is a partnership of local healthcare providers. Members include:
Hospital Systems
- Memorial Health University Medical Center
Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care, Inc.
- J. C. Lewis Primary Health Care Center, Inc.
Non-traditional Partners
- Chatham County Detention Center
- Gateway Behavioral Health Services
- Chatham Care Center, a Ryan White HIV Clinic
What is GRAChIE?
The Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange (GRAChIE) is an HIE created through a joint venture between Central Georgia Health System and Georgia Regents Health System. GRAChIE members utilize the HIE’s electronic platform to support care coordination through an efficient and meaningful sharing of health information to promote improved health care quality, affordability and outcomes.
In December 2014, the GRAChIE and CHL announced a partnership to interconnect their respective HIEs. The move benefits more than 1 million patients of the combined provider memberships of GRAChIE and CHL, giving more than 2,200 providers within the two networks electronic access to those patients’ health information at the point of clinical care, regardless of location. As of As of June 30, 2018, GRAChIE contained 2,557,816 unique patients with 39 data contributors.
What kind of information is available through CHL/GRAChIE?
A wide range of patient information is available through the GRAChIE interface including:
- Diagnoses
- Vitals
- History & Physicals
- Discharge Summaries
- Medications
- Allergies
- Immunizations
- Encounters
- Labs
- Provider Reports
- Procedures
- Anatomic Pathology & Microbiology
- Recommendations
The information available may vary slightly based on the electronic medical record (EMR) system and how patient health information is presented.
GRAChIE
Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange (GRAChIE) is an HIE created through a joint venture between Central Georgia Health System and Georgia Regents Health System. GRAChIE members utilize the HIE’s electronic platform to support care coordination through an efficient and meaningful sharing of health information to promote improved health care quality, affordability and outcomes.
In December 2014, GRAChIE and ChathamHealthLink announced a partnership to interconnect their respective HIEs.
“HIEs are at the forefront of leveraging electronic health records to advance population health across a region,” said GRAChIE Executive Director Tara Broxton Cramer. “In joining with the Planning Council, we’re working to extend that reach further throughout Georgia to improve care delivery for the greatest number of Georgians we can reach.”
As of As of June 30, 2018, GRAChIE contained 2,557,816 unique patients with 39 data contributors.
Visit GRAChIE.org for more information.
Partners
The Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, Inc. (Planning Council) was formed in 2004 by the Chatham County Commission to assist local providers meeting the healthcare needs of uninsured and underinsured Chatham County residents. In 2008, Safety Net established ChathamHealthLink (CHL), Georgia’s first health information exchange (HIE).
CHL members include:
Hospital Systems
Federally Qualified Health Centers
Free Clinics
- Community Health Mission (Closed December 2014)
Non-traditional Partners
- Chatham County Detention Center
- Gateway Community Service Board
- Chatham Care Center, a Ryan White HIV+ Center
In October 2014, ChathamHealthLink merged with the Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange (GRAChIE).
The Planning Council has worked in partnership with GRAChIE to bring additional providers into the HIE. SouthCoast Health and The Merit Health Netwok Independent Physician’s Association (Merit IPA), as well as rural hospital referral networks are now live and exchanging meaningful data in GRAChIE. In addition, GRAChIE is now connected to Georgia Health Information Network (GaHIN), the state HIE, eHealth Exchange, the national HIE, United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Defence (DoD) and are now building our connection with the Social Security Administration (SSA).
As of As of June 30, 2018, GRAChIE contained 2,557,816 unique patients with 39 data contributors.
Who We Are
ChathamHealthLink is a Health Information Exchange (HIE) established by the Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, Inc. (Planning Council) in 2008.
HIEs are a recent concept that enables all health providers involved in a patient’s care — whether in a primary care setting, a specialists’ office or emergency department — to share vital patient information including medications, pre-existing conditions, allergies, immunizations, lab results, appointment history and more from within electronic medical records (EMRs) at the point of care. HIEs minimize manual and often time-consuming information gathering while helping to improve care coordination and reduce adverse events, complications, hospital readmissions and duplicate tests.
In December 2014, the Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange (GRAChIE) and ChathamHealthLink announced a partnership to interconnect their respective HIEs. The move benefits more than 1 million patients of the combined provider memberships of GRAChIE and ChathamHealthLink, giving more than 2,200 providers within the two networks electronic access to those patients’ health information at the point of clinical care, regardless of location.
“The goal of every HIE is to help providers perform better as stewards of local and regional patient care by lowering costs and improving outcomes, and this partnership greatly extends that advantage throughout the state,” said Chatham County Manager Lee Smith. “With this arrangement, for example, a GRAChIE-affiliated ER team in Macon providing emergency care to a patient from Savannah will have immediate access to that patient’s medical history, and the patient’s primary physician back home will have full details at hand when the patient returns for follow-up. That level of care coordination will eliminate a great deal of unnecessary costs while fostering more informed care provision.”
As of As of June 30, 2018, GRAChIE contained 2,557,816 unique patients with 39 data contributors.