A Medical Device Daily
A new initiative called Health eShare was unveiled to improve healthcare by encouraging adoption of health information exchange (HIE) between healthcare providers in Tennessee. Qsource (Nashville, Tennessee), a nonprofit healthcare quality improvement and information technology company, is working with the Tennessee Office of eHealth Initiatives to implement and support Health eShare.
The initial venture is the Health eShare Direct Project, which urges providers to adopt a technology called Direct to securely transmit electronic health information. Direct is a secure email-like service that allows physicians, healthcare professionals, clinical labs, patients and public health departments to send and receive encrypted electronic medical health information to each other.
Qsource is encouraging the adoption of Direct by providing education, outreach and technical assistance to interested healthcare professionals and their support staffs. Providers interested in using Direct or learning more about it can visit www.HealtheShareTN.com to understand benefits or sign up for Direct after completing a short survey.
Qsource has engaged several Tennessee communities—including providers in Hickman County, Memphis and Chattanooga—in using Direct to demonstrate its effectiveness to other providers. It anticipates unveiling a state-wide HIE initiative by the end of the year.