News from Illinois CancerCare

Illinois CancerCare Joins the Central Illinois Health Information Exchange

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Illinois CancerCare Joins the Central Illinois Health Information Exchange

Peoria, IL July 2, 2014 – Illinois CancerCare has joined the Central Illinois Health Information Exchange (CIHIE). As a participating CIHIE member, Illinois CancerCare will be able to share electronic medical records with other members using the allcharts® software. Health information exchange (HIE) networks can simplify healthcare communication, replacing faxing and mailing with instant access to information critical to proper care.

“The average American sees 18 physicians in their lifetime*, leaving records scattered across central Illinois. This is a problem because providers need to know a patient’s complete medical story in order to make good decisions,” said Joy Duling, Executive Director of CIHIE. “Health information exchange is a secure technology that allows a provider to access a patient’s current healthcare records from multiple sources in one place.”

“Participating in CIHIE creates a mechanism to share health records and improve healthcare outcomes,” said Paul Fishkin, MD. “We believe participation in CIHIE will enhance the efficiency of our clinical operations, and more importantly, further the quality of care for our patients.”
In addition to Illinois CancerCare, current members of CIHIE include several hospitals, a medical school, federally-qualified health centers, behavioral health organizations, a health department, physician’s specialty group, emergency transport service, and rehabilitation facilities. For a complete list of CIHIE members, visit www.cihie.org.

About Illinois CancerCare
Illinois CancerCare is one of the largest practices in the state of Illinois that treats patients with cancer and blood diseases. It provides state of the art treatments to its patients against these complex diseases by staying at the leading edge of clinical research. Illinois CancerCare is central Illinois’ largest network of cancer care specialists with 90-120 open clinical cancer research trials being conducted at any given time. The group has been recognized by the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) Certification Program for outpatient hematology-oncology practices that meet the highest national standards for quality cancer care. Illinois Oncology Research Association CCOP is listed among the top 10% of enrollers to cancer clinical trials according to the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Illinois CancerCare has 17 physicians, 16 APN’s and more than 230 staff members. Illinois CancerCare serves patients in 12 cities and 12 counties throughout central and western Illinois including Bloomington/Normal, Canton, Carthage, Eureka, Galesburg, Kewanee, Macomb, Ottawa, Pekin, Peoria, Peru and Princeton. For further information please visit www.illinoiscancercare.com.

About the Central Illinois Health Information Exchange
The Central Illinois Health Information Exchange (CIHIE) is a community-based, non-profit organization that governs implementation of a regional HIE that connects healthcare providers across multiple counties in Illinois. Members can access the exchange through the allcharts® software. CIHIE will ultimately be able to connect with other regional and national exchanges, supporting extensive information portability for patients. CIHIE is funded by the subscribers to the service. For more information, visit cihie.org. Follow CIHIE on Facebook and Twitter.

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*GfK Roper Survey for Practice Fusion, 2010