Two Texas hospitals, Parkland Memorial Hospital and Knox County Hospital, have joined an effort funded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology that supports innovative health information exchange services that benefit public health agencies.
The Texas Health Services Authority (THSA) and HASA (a health information exchange in Texas covering multiple regions) are working with health IT company Audacious Inquiry on the Strengthening the Technical Advancement and Readiness of Public Health Agencies via Health Information Exchange (STAR HIE) Program.
THSA's project focuses on modernizing hospital capacity reporting across Texas to ensure health systems can easily share data with state health departments and federal response authorities during public health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
THSA and HASA are working to demonstrate standards-based, real-time reporting of hospital capacity data for the purpose of reducing burden on hospitals and improving data fidelity. As part of this effort, THSA and HASA are leveraging the Situational Awareness for Emergency Response (SANER) Project, an industry-wide collaboration led by Audacious Inquiry, to adopt and test FHIR standards for more effective data-sharing among health systems and public health entities across the state. Audacious Inquiry will work with Parkland Memorial Hospital and Knox County Hospital to identify how best to adopt the specifications within their systems.
"Knox County Hospital is not afraid of a challenge," said Stephen Kuehler, CEO of Knox County Hospital District, in a statement. "We are proud to represent the rural healthcare community in this pilot project to ease the burden of public health reporting during a pandemic."
"We pride ourselves with being part of innovative projects that provide up-to-date information when needed," said Joseph Longo, M.B.A., senior vice president and CIO at Parkland, in a statement. "Being able to rapidly share data among our peers will enable all of us to better serve the patients in our communities."
