Rush Health Connect enables clinicians to share information from different health record systems
Chicago, Illinois and New York, New York, May 23 – Rush Health and Ready Computing announced the successful deployment of the first phase of Rush Health Connect, an information technology solution, enabling Rush Health members to share health information securely and efficiently. Rush Health is a leading clinically-integrated network of physicians and hospitals that includes more than 1,100 physicians and 300 other clinicians serving the Chicago area. Rush Health has partnered with Ready Computing, a full services consulting firm that specializes in Health Information Exchange (HIE) implementations, to implement and customize InterSystems HealthShare®– the platform supporting Rush Health Connect.
Rush Health Connect provides its users with aggregated clinical information, customized patient alerts, and the foundation for more advanced analytics. In order to improve the sharing of health data across the Rush Health network, Rush Health Connect currently aggregates clinical information from two different electronic health record systems – Epic and AllScripts – widely in use by Rush Health members.
Rush Health has future plans to include all of the electronic health record (EHR) systems represented in its network, such as eClinicalWorks and AthenaHealth, as well as to establish connections with other HIEs and interoperability networks. Collecting clinical data from disparate EHR systems, with the consent of patients, provides clinicians with a longitudinal (overall) view of the patient’s medical history.
Rush Health Connect enables clinicians to view this aggregated patient data within their own existing EHR system, even when it is received from a different EHR. This adaptability makes it easier and more efficient for clinicians to utilize patient information to help guide patient care, sparing them the need to alter their clinical workflows or sign on to an additional application.
Rush Health exists in part to help the network’s hospitals and physicians to provide enhanced support for high-utilization patients – that is, patients with medical conditions that require coordinated care. To improve the communication and coordination for these patients, Rush Health Connect provides real-time alerts and notifications for physicians and care coordinators. When a patient exists on a care coordination notification list and is admitted or discharged from a Rush Health emergency department or hospital, members of the designated care team will receive an automatic, secure message notifying them of the admission or discharge. Enabling such automatic notifications improves the timely flow of information so that case managers and clinicians can effectively address the needs of the patient.
To realize the benefit of establishing the HIE, Rush Health Connect incorporates a real-time clinical analytics foundation. Rush Health collects a significant amount of patient data each day. Analyzing this data will enable the discovery of trends and patterns that ultimately can be used to improve care.
The partnership of Rush Health with Ready Computing leverages technology to improve health outcome and, quality of care, and ultimately to lower costs for patients. The completion of the first phase of the HIE implementation marks significant progress toward these goals.
In the next phase of the project, Ready Computing will work with Rush Health to expand data sharing capabilities across more hospitals and physician practices, expand notification abilities by incorporating patient event data from Rush Health payers, and conduct increasingly advanced analytics and reporting.
About Rush Health
Based in Chicago, Rush Health is a clinically integrated network of physicians and hospitals working together to improve health through high quality, efficient health services covering the spectrum of patient care from wellness, prevention and health promotion, to disease management and complex care management. For more information, visit
www.rush-health.com.
About Ready Computing
Ready Computing is a passionate group of IT specialists, primarily focused on the advancement of information technology in healthcare. Founded in 2011, Ready Computing has leveraged its expertise in standards based interoperability to deliver holistic solutions that power healthcare at some of the largest and most recognizable companies in the country. For more information, visit
www.readycomputing.com.
About InterSystems
InterSystems is the engine behind the world’s most important applications. In healthcare, finance, government, and other sectors where lives and livelihoods are at stake, InterSystems is the power behind what matters™. Founded in 1978, InterSystems is a privately held company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA), with offices worldwide, and its software products are used daily by millions of people in more than 80 countries. For more information, visit
InterSystems.com.