WNC Data Link

Background and Vision

For several years, the 16 hospitals serving western North Carolina have explored options to securely and efficiently exchange electronic patient medical information among the region’s health care providers. The hospitals obtained $2.5m in federal funds and $1m from The Duke Endowment to develop the foundation for the exchange. The WNC hospitals developed the following project goals:

Long-Term Goal: Allow every WNC resident to have a longitudinal electronic medical record that can be accessed and updated in real time by any authorized provider.

Short-Term Goal: Allow the secure exchange of electronic patient information between WNC hospitals.

Project Parameters

The WNC hospitals agreed on two key parameters for the project:

No central data repository or data warehouse to store patient data.

Ability to connect with any health information system and be “technology neutral”.

Through a detailed request for proposal process, the WNC hospitals chose Medseek for the software and interfaces and IBM for hosting services and project management. The project development and implementation costs are covered by the HRSA and Duke grants. The ongoing project costs are divided pro rata among the WNC hospitals.

The Solution

WNC Data Link allows authorized physicians and clinicians to view a patient’s electronic records across all WNC hospital systems. Upon request, WNC Data Link searches all of the WNC hospitals’ information systems for a patient’s records and collates them in a standardized format in real time. Clinicians can access the records through any internet connected device. In future phases, authorized users will be able to access electronic records from physician offices, health departments, clinics and other health care providers to create a longitudinal view of the patient’s medical history.

Patient Scenarios

WNC Data Link enhances patient safety and quality of care:

Joe Smith arrives at ABC Hospital’s ER and is unable to communicate. The ER physician accesses WNC Data Link and finds that Joe was recently treated at another hospital. The record indicates his current medications, lab reports, diagnosis, next of kin, and other data that can be used for his immediate care and treatment.

After assessing Joe and conducting tests, ABC Hospital determines that Joe should be transferred to XYZ Hospital. Once notified of the transfer, XYZ Hospital accesses WNC Data Link to view all the data and tests from ABC Hospital’s ER and is fully prepared for Joe’s arrival.

Once discharged from XYZ Hospital, Joe returns home and visits Dr. Jones, his primary physician. Dr. Jones accesses WNC Data Link to view Joe’s care, lab results, current medications and discharge summary from XYZ Hospital.

When Dr. Jones goes home that evening, he accesses WNC Data Link to check on the status of six of his patients at ABC Hospital and one patient at XYZ Hospital.

Initial Data Available

For the initial implementation phase, selected patient medical information from the WNC hospitals will be available through Data Link. This will include patient admission/discharge information, lab results and lab trending reports, microbiology reports, radiology reports, medications, allergies and transcribed reports. All of this data is currently available electronically from the 16 WNC hospitals’ information systems. Additional modules can be installed in future phases to include images, EKGs, ED records, clinical notes and more to provide a more complete electronic record of the patient’s medical history.

Project Implementation

Hospital	City	Information System	Go Live Date
Angel Medical Center	Franklin	Meditech Magic	Feb 2006
CarePartners	Asheville	Meditech Client Server	Mar 2007
Cherokee Indian Hospital	Cherokee	RPMS	Aug 2007
Harris Regional Hospital	Sylva	McKesson	April 2007
Haywood Regional Medical Center	Clyde	Meditech Magic	Feb 2006
Highlands-Cashiers Hospital	Highlands	CPSI	June 2007
McDowell Hospital	Marion	CPSI	June 2007
Mission Hospitals	Asheville	Cerner	Oct 2006
Murphy Medical Center	Murphy	CPSI	June 2007
Pardee Memorial Hospital	Hendersonville	Meditech Client Server	Nov 2007
Park Ridge Hospital	Fletcher	Cerner	Jan 2008*
Rutherford Hospital	Rutherfordton	Meditech Magic	Feb 2006
Spruce Pine Community Hospital	Spruce Pine	CPSI	July 2007
St. Luke’s Hospital	Columbus	CPSI	June 2007
Swain County Hospital	Bryson City	McKesson	April 2007
Transylvania Community Hospital	Brevard	Meditech Magic	Feb 2006

* in process

HIPAA Privacy and Security

The system includes vigorous electronic security features that make it even more secure than paper medical records. Through user IDs, passwords, monitoring of users and restrictions on access to patient records, WNC Data Link ensures compliance with the HIPAA privacy and security requirements. While information is quickly available for authorized physicians and other clinical users, it is protected from those who should not have access.

Project Update as of February 2009

Data Link project implementation is set up in Phases. In Phase I, the goal was to link all of the WNC sixteen hospitals’ electronic medical records into data link. Phase I was completed in September 2008.

In Phase II of the Data Link project, the goal is to begin linking the electronic medical records from area physician offices, especially those of regional specialist practices. The pilot phase of this project will begin in spring 2009 and will include four, or five, practices initially.

Also a key part of Phase II will be to add biological images and outpatient medication histories. The medical images would include radiology, nuclear medicine, tomography and ultrasound images. The images would also include images of medical mappings such as EEGs, EKGs, or ECGs. Last, there will be an addition of outpatient medication histories of patients via a link to retail pharmacy database. The goal for adding the medication history is to assist in medication reconciliation project currently based in healthcare settings.

Project Director

Effective September 1, 2008, WNC Health Network hired Dana Gibson to be the Data Link Project Director. Since that time, Dana has assisted with completing the Phase I part of the Data Link project and beginning work on Phase II. Dana is responsible for coordinating Data Link operations, user training, strategic planning, marketing, work groups, and all activities consistent with the objectives and strategic priorities specific to WNC Data Link. Dana comes to the WNC Health Network from Mission Hospital. She was a manager of the Quality Department at the regional trauma center hospital in Asheville, NC. She has a Masters of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is certified as a Green Belt Six Sigma Project Manager (CSSGB), and has also earned the Certified Professional of Health Care Quality (CPHQ) designation.

For information regarding the Data Link project, please contact Dana Gibson at 828-633-1759.