On the heels of the day Americans devote to remember and celebrate our veterans and the sacrifices they make to serve and protect our country, New Hampshire takes a giant leap forward towards improving the healthcare provided for those veterans in our state. New Hampshire Health Information Organization (NHHIO), the state-wide health information exchange (HIE) organization, announced today that they are now able to connect with the Veterans Administration (VA), enabling the exchange of healthcare information with hospitals and other healthcare providers in the state who also provide care to veterans outside of the VA.
Not all healthcare services needed by our veterans are provided within the VA Hospital. For those veterans receiving care outside of the VA system, there is often times a disconnect between the VA and the outside providers when relying on paper-based methods to communicate important health information. This electronic connection between the VA and NHHIO will help ensure that pertinent information is in the hands of the provider at the time of service, where they are able to make more informed decisions about the care of the veteran. Simply put, HIE technology provides faster access to information that can saves lives, streamline care coordination, reduce healthcare costs, and can improve clinical outcomes for NH veterans.
“This is a big win for NH Veterans,” says Jeff Loughlin, NHHIO Executive Director, and US Army Iraq veteran. “This connection helps to remove some of the barriers in communication and care faced on a daily basis.”
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can connect to NHHIO or the VA, please contact NHHIO at (603) 219-0184.
NHHIO offers a variety of Health Information Technology (HIT) advisory services including technical guidance, Direct capable solutions and adoption support. To learn more about how NHHIO helps healthcare organizations improve quality of care and streamline the data sharing process, visit here.
