BUFFALO, NY – HEALTHeLINK, Western New York’s clinical information exchange, has reached one million uniquely consented patients. Approximately 95% of those who consent authorize their health information to be shared among treating providers.
“Getting to one million patients is a significant milestone as patients hold the key to enabling their treating providers to have a more complete picture of their medical record,” said Daniel Porreca, HEALTHeLINK’s executive director. “By consenting to allow your health care providers to access your medical information through HEALTHeLINK, you are giving them instant access to information that has proven to improve the quality of care, enhance safety, and reduce health care costs through the elimination of duplicate testing.”
Consent to HEALTHeLINK can be done at any participating hospital or provider office, or by downloading a form at wnyhealthelink.com. A parent or legal guardian can also sign a HEALTHeLINK consent form on behalf of their child, age 17 and younger. Once a patient has consented to HEALTHeLINK, treating providers are able to view lab reports, medication history, diagnostic images, and a wide range of other health information securely at the point of care.
About HEALTHeLINK:
HEALTHeLINK is a collaboration among hospitals, physicians, health plans and other health care providers in the eight counties of western New York State to securely exchange clinical information to improve the quality of care, enhance patient safety and mitigate health care costs. HEALTHeLINK is a Qualified Entity of the Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY), which enables providers to access their patients’ data from across the state. HEALTHeLINK is also a founding member of the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative (SHIEC), the national trade association of health information exchanges. Providers and patients can visit wnyhealthelink.com or @HEALTHeLINK on both Facebook and Twitter for more information.
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