Merger Creates One of Largest HIEs in Nation

Michigan Health Connect and Great Lakes Health Information Exchange have merged to form Great Lakes Health Connect. The group maintains that the merger has resulted in one of the nation's largest providers of health information exchange (HIE), allowing hospitals, physicians and other medical professionals to share the health records of more than 5 million people.

Participants of the newly merged organization cover more than 80 percent of the hospital beds in the state and include more than 20,000 independent and employed providers serving over half the state's 10 million people, more than any HIE in the state and more than most in the country, according to the group.

Great Lakes Health Connect allows hospitals and physicians to access a patient's health history across many different providers, including lab facilities, allowing ready access to vital information and eliminating the need to rely on patient memory. This improves the speed and quality of care provided. It also says it provides real-time notification to providers for admissions and discharges from hospitals to nursing homes and other providers, to make sure complete patient information is transferred and the risk of readmission is lowered.