SUBSCRIBE                                                                                                       Winter 2017
Denise Hines Receives Honor, RecognitionRecognition  

Denise Hines received the Phoenix Community Leader of the Year Award at the 2016 Health IT Leadership Summit in Atlanta on December 7, 2016. Dr. Hines was recognized for her instrumental role in advancing healthcare connectivity in Georgia to ensure physicians have the information they need to deliver quality care.

The Phoenix award represents the iconic "rising from the ashes" of the Phoenix - a symbol of strength, tenacity and leadership. Presented annually by the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the categories are:  Start-up Company, Emerging Company, Hospital and Community Leader of the Year.   

Dr. Hines also was
featured in an executive profile in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on December 9, 2016.

Read the article. 
GaHIN School TeleHealth Program Recognized as ONC 'Bright Spot' BrightSpot

The ONC has recognized GaHIN for its work with the Georgia Partnership TeleHealth to implement a query-based HIE for school nurses and care providers in rural Georgia county school systems.

GaHIN was featured in the ONC's Bright Spots Initiative which is designed to identify and disseminate successful HIE implementation practices and approaches at the state and local level.

GaHIN and DCH Complete GAMMIS Connection GAMMIS 
Georgia Medicaid providers now can securely access clinical patient information through GaHIN even if they don't have an electronic health record by using the state's online Georgia Medicaid Management Information System ( GAMMIS).
 
"Being able to view clinical records through GAMMIS helps to close the patient information gap across care settings by electronically connecting providers to critical patient clinical information," said Denise Hines, Executive Director of GaHIN. "These providers can access relevant, timely patient information to support informed decisions and improved quality care."
 
The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) operates the GAMMIS site, which serves as the primary web portal for Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids® and all related waiver programs administered by DCH's Medical Assistance Plans Division. Providers can log in to a secure area of the portal to access claims and remittance information as well as confirmation of Medical Assistance Plan member eligibility.

With the new GaHIN connection, providers can sign up online for GaHIN access. Once that process is complete, they can access 20+ million demographic patient records through the Network.

Training videos are available online to explain both the sign-up process and use of the system once registered. Monthly training webinars will begin at the end of January.  
 
GaHIN is now connected to the VA, but patients must opt in to participate. Ask your patients if they are veterans and if they are, direct them to www.va.gov/VLER for information and the sign-up form (VA Form 10-0485). 

More Medical Community Members Using GeorgiaDirect for Information Exchange GeorgiaDirect

GeorgiaDirect, GaHIN's free, easy-to-use messaging service, is used by providers to securely exchange care plans, receive specialist reports, and send and receive information from a hospital or provider.

Use is spreading beyond providers and hospitals as other members of the medical community discover its benefits. Today those users include:
  • Pharmacies
  • Ambulances
  • Long-term care facilities
  • Public health registries
If you have care partners in your community that would benefit from GeorgiaDirect, please let us know.
 
And if you would like to see all GaHIN connections click here.

 

GaHIN has added new members to its Board of Directors, which provides governance and insight to the non-profit organization. Joining the GaHIN Board are:

  

Charles Enicks
VP & CIO
Georgia Health Sciences University

Ben McKeeby
SVP & CIO
Grady Health System

GaHIN Continues to Thrive with Addition of New Members Statewide NewMembers
 
GaHIN has recently added several new members to the Network. Not only does this strengthen the statewide HIE, it also brings new opportunities for electronic health information exchange to more providers and organizations.

Care Management Organizations (CMOs) play a critical role in
care coordination for many of those most in need, including Medicare and Medicaid patients that are served through PeachCare for Kids ®, Georgia Families ® and Planning for Healthy Babies ® (P4HB ®).

GaHIN's CMO members are:
  • Amerigroup - shares care plans and views patient health information
  • Peach State - views patient health information
  • WellCare - views patient health information
Amerigroup is one of the first CMOs nationwide to share care plans via an HIE, and it's expected that other CMOs will move to that model.

We also welcome:
  • Gwinnett Health System - serves one of the nation's fastest growing counties
  • HealtHIE Georgia - serves safety net hospitals and rural providers
  • Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates - the nation's largest gastroenterology practice