What is a regional health information organization?

A RHIO is first and foremost a governance entity whose purpose is to facilitate the accessibility and exchange of health-related information on individuals within a contiguous geographic area for the benefit of the community in that area. A RHIO exists to supplement and enhance efforts to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health and care on behalf of the individuals within its delineated geographic area. In essence, a RHIO is a type of HIO that is mission-driven and geographically bound. Prominent entities in a RHIO include those that create and maintain health-related information and may include any organization, individual or interest group with a stake in improving health care through efforts to make health information more widely available, using appropriate security measures to protect the privacy of individuals as well as the confidentiality of their information. roups of stakeholders may include:

Health care institutions and personnel that render care.

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                        Businesses and government agencies that reimburse for those services.

                        Researchers and professionals who are engaged in health improvement activities.

                        Public health agencies.

                        Consumers of health care.

HIE within a RHIO’s geographic area is the chief means by which its objectives are achieved. The RHIO enables, facilitates and fosters collaboration among stakeholders to attain a useful level of information sharing through HIE. A RHIO may operate directly or contract for HIE services.

Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO)

A health information organization that brings together health care stakeholders within a defined geographic area and governs health information exchange among them for the purpose of improving health and care in that community.

nderstanding a RHIO. To be designated a RHIO, an entity needs to have certain core features. These attributes distinguish it from other organizations that do not or cannot execute the distinct purpose and responsibilities of a RHIO.

An organization designated as a RHIO:

Must involve data-sharing participants that are separate and distinct legal entities operating within a defined geographic area whose collaboration through the RHIO will ross organizational boundaries.

Must intend to benefit the population in the community. This requires that stakeholders come from the defined geographic area and that the RHIO provides well-defined and transparent processes to facilitate the interoperable exchange of health information across the range of participating stakeholders.

Must be inclusive and convene various types of stakeholders in the delineated geographic area who are vested in improving the health of the community.

Can arrange for the provision of additional technical and operational services supporting its primary purpose. Such services may vary based on stakeholder needs and a range of environmental factors. Examples include:

o The technology and support for physicians to create and use electronic records, delivered to their places of work through Internet connections by application service providers (ASPs).

o Electronic exchange of messages in a secure format to report and distribute medical test results.

o Data on specific patients to first responders in a community; for example, whether a patient has signed a DNR (do not resuscitate) order.

o Coordinated electronic health record and personal health record platforms for the region.

The “regional” in RHIO defines a variable area that is less than national but can be broader than legislative boundaries (i.e. state lines, city limits, etc.) This latitude allows the determination of geographic boundaries logical to a set of stakeholders seeking to pursue the objectives of a RHIO. A RHIO can be organized to support a community, groups of communities, a statewide area or a region crossing state boundaries.