Cincinnati-area health information exchange HealthBridge has formed a partnership with the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association that will result in a regional network across southwest Ohio linking more than 50 hospitals and 7,500 physicians.
HealthBridge, which plays a role in several federal health IT efforts, will start the project by connecting with nine Dayton hospitals that are part of Premier Health Partners and the Kettering Health Network, said Keith Hepp, vice president of business development at HealthBridge in a Sept. 29 announcement.
By the end of 2011, 80 percent of the association's hospitals will be connected to the Dayton health information exchange. About 80 percent of area physicians will be connected by the end of 2012, according to HealthBridge.
The addition of Dayton's hospital and provider community will "rapidly expand the ability to connect and share health information securely to improve patient care," Hepp said in the announcement Sept. 27.
HealthBridge also is a lead organization in the Greater Cincinnati Beacon Community, a program funded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, to showcase regions where adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) is already underway.
HealthBridge is also a regional health IT extension center, another ONC effort, to provide technical assistance to local physicians and small practices with adopting EHRs and becoming meaningful users of health IT.
