KAMUELA, HI – Hawaii Island Beacon Community has awarded a $680,000 contract to North Hawaii Community Hospital (NHCH) to implement a health information exchange throughout the North Hawaii region. Implementation has begun and will continue through 2012.

The HIE, which is expected to serve more than 32,000 patients, is the first step toward island-wide data exchange, officials say.

The hospital’s vendor partner Wellogic has already laid the technical foundation for the HIE, connecting information systems from NHCH; affiliated physician groups; two statewide labs; all pharmacies, radiology and imaging centers in the region; a national database of dispensed prescriptions; and a federally qualified health center (FQHC).

“We are pleased to support the groundbreaking initiatives of NHCH to help providers in the North Hawaii region adopt and benefit from the latest technology in healthcare,” said Susan B. Hunt, project director and CEO of HIBC.

“NHCH has pioneered the use of electronic health records by North Hawaii providers and helped to achieve a nearly 95 percent adoption rate – one of the highest for any community nationwide. The region is more than ready to take the next step, and both patients and providers will benefit from the streamlined operations that a secure HIE system makes possible,” she said.

“It’s an exciting breakthrough for healthcare in North Hawaii,” said William Park, MD, chief medical officer and general surgeon at NHCH, who has championed the region’s HIE since the project’s inception. “Our partnership with Wellogic has been very successful, and we have built up to a smooth launch. Through access to comprehensive, up-to-date patient information for providers and, eventually, patients themselves, care will be more efficient, more easily coordinated and more holistic.”

Wellogic staff will be conducting training for all North Hawaii providers. HIBC staff, in partnership with staff from the Hawaii Pacific Regional Extension Center (REC), will continue ongoing support related to the adoption and use of EHR.

In addition to supporting and assisting with EHR and HIE implementation, HIBC is working to effect clinical transformation, particularly in terms of greater coordination of and access to care for patients who are most at-risk for chronic diseases, and conducting outreach by awarding $300,000 to the community in the form of Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) Grants.

Hawaii Island Beacon Community is a $16.1 million, island-wide, federally funded, collaborative project administered through the College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, working to improve healthcare on Hawaii Island.

North Hawaii Community Hospital (NHCH) is a rural 29-bed acute care hospital in Waimea. Nonprofit, community owned and locally governed, the hospital opened in May 1996 and cares for Big Island residents and visitors.