May 22 – PRMC and DHIN Work Together

While technology knows no bounds, the same could not always be said for important medical test results. Until very recently, Delaware residents being treated on the Maryland Eastern Shore did not have the benefit of having medical test results electronically delivered to their Delaware physicians and updated in the state’s community health record, the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN.)

The recent addition of the Eastern Shore’s largest hospital network – Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) based in Salisbury, Maryland – to the system provides for an even more complete community health record for Delawareans.

“With respect to healthcare, the speed at which state lines are blurring continues to accelerate, and the addition of an institution as large as PRMC is momentous,” added Dr. Lee. “We see a time in the very near future when doctors across the country will have seamless and secure exchange of health information across a borderless system, regardless of where the patient lives, works or vacations. These are the first steps to making that level of clinical access a reality.”

When fully online later this year, laboratory, pathology and radiology test results as well as the transcription summaries of thousands of Delawareans who seek care at PRMC will be delivered and accessed through DHIN.

“The days of patients being asked to carry copies of their own records, or of medical practices needing to fax, scan or mail results is diminishing,” said Dr. Jan Lee, CEO of DHIN. “This is a very exciting moment for all of us. It is the deepest across-state-lines agreement we have developed to-date, and it will result in saved time and effort for medical professionals and better care for patients.”

In addition to the flow of information, PRMC doctors and medical practices are being trained on how to use DHIN so they can not only update but have access to previous test results conducted by other hospitals and facilities, dating as far back as 2007.