Thanks to a new data-sharing agreement between the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Health Information Exchange, physicians in the state will have access to their patients' Medicaid clinical and claims information at the point of care.
The ultimate goal of the agreement is to give healthcare providers access to as much information about a patient as possible, which will allow them to provide more personalized care and avoid repeat tests and procedures.
"Of course, the ultimate goal is to serve patients — to keep them healthy and to treat them with the best clinical care in the most efficient manner," North Carolina Medical Society CEO Robert Seligson told the Winston-Salem Journal. "The data available through this exchange will help boost quality outcomes, enhance coordination of care, provide greater transparency and, in the long run, drive down costs for the Medicaid program."
Currently, 27 of the state's hospitals and more than 600 physician practices have participation agreements with NC HIE.
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