How health data sharing affects the way doctors care for patients

The following is a guest article by Dr. Guillermo Diaz, Chief Medical Information Officer at the Los Angeles Department of Health Services – Ambulatory Care Network, and Ali Modaressi, CEO at Los Angeles Network for Enhanced Services (LANES)

When Alex was taken to the LA General emergency room, the hospital’s care team documented a number of indicators that appeared to be related to a neurological problem. As part of their intake process, the team checked Alex’s (a pseudonym) medical history through the hospital’s health information organization and discovered that the patient had recently undergone heart surgery at another hospital; their postoperative problems had merely mimicked a neurological challenge. This discovery allowed the healthcare team to move quickly and provide accurate care from the right experts, saving the patient from unnecessary testing and waiting.

This agile response would not have been possible if LA General had not participated in data sharing. LA General, along with the entire Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, which includes four hospitals and 24 freestanding outpatient clinics, shares patient data bidirectionally with other health care organizations through its health information organization (HIO), also known as health information. information exchanges (HIEs), allowing the team to quickly access relevant information in compliance with HIPAA. This avoids the tedious process and delays associated with calling, faxing, and contacting providers and family members.

As data sharing initiatives gain momentum, including TEFCA nationally and the Data Exchange Framework in California, it is an important reminder that the advancement of data sharing is more than a policy or technology discussion. Data sharing decisions impact the care patients receive every day. It can shorten the time to accurate care, improving outcomes not only in emergency situations described above, but also in long-term community care.

HIEs are not new, but they are not yet ubiquitous, and that is a problem for both patients and physicians. As a board-certified clinical informatics physician working for the second largest municipal healthcare system in the US, and a health information organization (HIO) leader, we are committed to using meaningful technology applications and educating healthcare professionals about the use of digital platforms, especially with regard to the exchange of patient information and health data.

When applied correctly, data sharing platforms and tools will improve the quality of care delivered at the individual and population level. They address gaps in the accessibility of patient information and provide a holistic view of their medical history, including mental health and social determinants of health information, available at the point of care. They serve as a valuable addition to electronic health records and provide a more complete view of patient information, allowing healthcare providers to access patient data beyond the boundaries of their individual healthcare facilities. They can also integrate mental health data, allowing healthcare providers to effectively tailor treatments to both physical and mental health needs. Importantly, they align with patient privacy guidelines and can often be integrated directly with existing systems.

From a physician’s perspective, this is more than just a new technology. It’s no secret that time spent on administrative responsibilities, including time spent on poorly designed EHRs, contributes to physician burnout and ultimately staff shortages. At scale and with widespread adoption, HIEs hold the promise of reducing the time physicians spend duplicating data sources and capturing basic patient information. Instead, physicians will be able to retrieve existing information, allowing them to spend more valuable time practicing medicine and working directly with patients, and less time coding and updating notes.

As technology continues to evolve, the healthcare ecosystem faces both challenges and opportunities in leveraging data to improve patient care across diverse and extended networks. Responsible data sharing and continuous improvement of user-friendly interfaces for healthcare professionals are critical to driving the adoption of new technologies.

As LA General has shown, integrating data sharing technologies and processes improves patient outcomes and allows teams and organizations to operate more efficiently and effectively. While not every patient care situation is as critical as described above, every patient interaction does benefit from accurate information and care coordination, making data sharing a no-brainer for the future of healthcare.

About Dr. Guillermo Diaz

Dr. Diaz is a board-certified physician in clinical informatics, who is committed to the proper implementation and use of clinical software to help improve the quality of clinical care delivered. He has guided the successful implementation and use of electronic health records (EHR), registries, health information exchanges and other various health information systems and changes. He has been active in this field for over 15 years. Dr. Diaz works for the Ambulatory Care Network, a division of the Los Angeles Department of Health Services, the second largest municipal health care system in the United States.

About Ali Modaressi

Ali Modaressi is the CEO of the Los Angeles Network for Enhanced Services (LANES), a qualified health information organization (QHIO) exclusive to Los Angeles County, supporting more than 10 million lives. He currently serves on the California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework Stakeholder Advisory Group. Prior to LANES, Modaressi was a healthcare IT leader at LA Care Health Plan. He has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare IT.