Georgia Health Information Network (GaHIN), the state-designated health information exchange (HIE) for Georgia, has launched a new service that allows healthcare providers to share a copy of their patients’ lab results via a secure, searchable GaHIN repository. The new service reflects GaHIN’s focus on making patient health information available at the point of care to improve care quality and reduce costs.

Benefits of sharing patients’ lab results:  

• Provides clinical information to all providers on the care team to support quality patient care
• Eliminates duplicate tests and lowers healthcare costs
• Relieves staff from responding to requests for sharing individual lab results
• Increases patient satisfaction and eliminates them being responsible for hand delivering lab results among their care providers

Providers must opt-in to participate by completing an electronic authorization on the GaHIN website. Alternatively, they can print out a PDF and email or mail it back. Quest Diagnostics, one of the largest lab services in Georgia, is the first reference lab to participate in the program. GaHIN is currently working with other lab service organizations to make their results available.

“We are pleased to expand the scope of GaHIN’s interoperable capabilities, but most importantly, provide access to additional patient laboratory results which is vital in the delivery of the best care possible,” said Pam Matthews, RN, MBA, FHIMSS, CPHIMS, Executive Operating Officer of GaHIN. “This service should really benefit smaller providers, including those in rural and underserved areas, who currently may be relying on patients to deliver a printout or CD of their lab results. The ability to easily share a copy of test results across providers avoids unnecessary and duplicate tests while reducing overall costs.  Patient satisfaction of the care process improves especially with the avoidance of non-reimbursable test procedures.”

GaHIN’s members include regional HIEs, hospital systems, physician groups and individual practitioners. GaHIN’s products, which are available at no cost to qualified healthcare professionals, include:

• GeorgiaDirect – gives providers a personalized email address that allows them to securely transmit patient health information to other authorized healthcare professionals; and
• Georgia ConnectedCare – an innovative technology solution that enables providers to securely access a patient’s complete health record through their electronic health record (EHR) system.