Minnesota Healthcare Community to Build State-of-the-Art Health Informatio...( MINNEAPOLIS and DULUTH Minn. June 2 /...),Health

MINNEAPOLIS and DULUTH, Minn., June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- MEDNETWorld.com (MEDNET), a leader in Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) connectivity and clinical applications, and the Community Health Information Collaborative (CHIC) have implemented The MEDNET Patient Lookup System, allowing electronic clinical data exchange for healthcare providers. This implementation enables health care providers to securely look up patient records and data instantly across 18 counties in Minnesota, thereby creating the area's largest Health Information Exchange (HIE).

Previously, healthcare personnel utilized a manual, paper-based, or fax-based process to locate patient data, resulting in incomplete information at critical moments and increased the chance for errors. With the collaboration between MEDNET and CHIC, medical information will be shared electronically among all of CHIC healthcare providers in a safe and secure manner. Healthcare providers throughout Minnesota will be able to look up and locate patient health information electronically.

After the rollout, access to The MEDNET Patient Lookup Service will be expanded with additional services such as electronic referral, insurance pre-authorization and public health reporting. The system also supports connectivity to the Nationwide Health Information Network for secure connectivity to other HIEs, states, and federal agencies.

"We want to make it easier for people every time they visit the doctor, a hospital or clinic. Most importantly, we are pleased to provide the necessary software to enable the critical security measures to protect patient privacy," said John Fraser, MEDNET Chief Executive Officer.

"We're looking forward to helping develop a network that is secure and effective and that improves the quality of care patients receive," said Cheryl Stephens, Executive Director of CHIC. "It's all about consumer empowerment."