Last week, I got the chance to join the HIE community in Atlanta for the 2018 SHIEC Annual Conference. This is my third straight year attending, and since Verato has 15 HIE customers, SHIEC is always a particularly fun event for us. Here are five big takeaways from this year’s conference:
1. The SHIEC family is growing – fast.
I have to say that I was shocked by how many more people attended the conference this year than in years past. There was talk that the number of attendees has doubled every year, and I believe it. I can confidently say that I have seen the HIE community grow not only in numbers but in maturity and value as well.
2. HIEs around the country are meeting and exceeding their missions.
Throughout the four-day conference, I had the chance to hear HIEs share how they are meeting their ambitious missions and providing quality care to their communities (and beyond!). This year’s panels were particularly energizing and exciting. The topics were wide-ranging, from the critical role that HIEs play in emergency services to how social determinants of health (SDOH) can aid clinical pictures. I also learned how HIEs can help patients receive aggregated data in patient portals, an effort that will surely improve patient engagement.
3. Patient matching is one of the most pressing challenges facing the HIE community.
At Verato, patient matching is obviously near and dear to our hearts. It was clear that the HIE community feels the same way. The importance of patient matching was mentioned in most panel sessions, and there was even one session dedicated exclusively to overcoming patient matching challenges. I’m excited to say that all five HIEs that spoke in that session are Verato customers. It was a great vote of confidence in our work with those customers and our innovative approach to solving patient matching challenges: Referential Matching.
4. “Interoperability is what we do, and identity management is the cornerstone of interoperability.”
In the patient matching panel, CORHIO CEO Morgan Honea perfectly summed up the value of patient matching to HIEs with this quote. Dan Chavez, Executive Director of San Diego Health Connect, also provided actionable advice, suggesting how critical it is for HIEs to create an MPI working group. Such a group would be the perfect forum for HIEs and their participating organizations to ensure patient matching challenges are identified and addressed correctly.
5. An upcoming announcement on innovative, game-changing MPI technology…
Throughout the conference, there was a constant buzz around the Verato booth. The industry is exploring sustainable solutions to interoperability, and many acknowledge the importance of close-to-perfect patient matching for true interoperability, especially at a nationwide scale. Verato, in an effort to facilitate nationwide interoperability, will soon have exciting news to share. The Verato Universal™ MPI will shortly become truly universal. Imagine being able to near-effortlessly connect with and tap into a wider network — and with close-to-perfect patient matching! Stay tuned for more details…