Services Overview
A health information exchange (HIE) is a secure computer network that connects the electronic health information systems of different health care providers, enabling those providers to share clinical and demographic data of patients they have in common. The Vermont Legislature has named VITL as the operator of the Vermont Health Information Exchange, the exclusive statewide HIE for Vermont. The illustration to the right shows the current footprint of the HIE in Vermont.
Below is an overview of the various HIE services that VITL is either offering or developing.
Patient Demographics
Patient demographic data is sent from health care organizations, such as a hospital or long term care facility, and routed through VITL to the Vermont Blueprint for Health Registry. This allows the Blueprint community health teams to assist with disease management. Patient demographic data may also be used to facilitate the compiling of a shared community health record.
Clinical Summary
Clinical summary data is sent from health care organizations, such as a hospital or pediatric practice, and routed through VITL to the Vermont Blueprint for Health Registry, allowing the Blueprint community health teams to assist with management of patient populations. Clinical summaries may also be used in compiling a shared community health record.
Vermont Blueprint Registry
Patient data is sent from physicians participating in the Vermont Blueprint for Health and routed through VITL to a web-based reporting registry. By using this reporting registry, and collaborating with the community health teams, practitioners are able to improve prevention strategies and patient panel management.
Vermont Immunization Registry
Immunization data is sent from a practice or medical organization’s EHR and routed through VITL to the Vermont Department of Health Immunization Registry.
Laboratory Orders
Laboratory orders are electronically sent from a practice or medical organization’s EHR and routed through VITL to laboratories rather than by phone, fax, or in paper form. This decreases the margin of error and creates a more readable and timely order.
Laboratory Results
Laboratory results are electronically sent from laboratories and routed through VITL to a practice or medical organization’s EHR. This creates a timelier lab result and provides discrete data elements that can be incorporated into a patient’s electronic record.
Scheduled Orders (e.g. Radiology and other departments)
Radiology orders are electronically sent from practices or medical organizations and routed through VITL to radiology departments, rather than by phone, fax, or in paper form. This decreases errors and creates a more readable and timely order.
Transcribed Reports (e.g. Radiology and other departments)
Transcribed reports are sent from radiology and other departments electronically, rather than by phone, fax, or in paper form. This provides more readable and timely reports.
VITLdirect
Clinical data is sent and received among providers who are users of VITLdirect and located in different health care organizations in a completely secure, but easy- to-use environment, similar to e-mail.
VITLinbox
For practices and medical organizations without an EHR, VITLinbox provides the ability to receive and organize lab results, radiology reports, discharge summaries, and other documents from hospitals, independent labs, and other data sources in PDF format.
VITLreferral
This allows practices and medical organizations to electronically create and manage referrals with other health care providers who are users of VITLreferral.
VITLconnect
Establishing a connection between a practice or medical organization and VITL is the first step to exchanging electronic data through VITL and implementing many of the services listed above. Connectivity involves the installation of a basic software program, called an “agent,” which allows VITL to establish interfaces for orders, results and registries. In addition the agent is the means to VITLrefer and VITLinbox functionality.