Low-Cost Health IT Connectivity for Skilled Nursing Facilities, Home Health Agencies Provides More Efficient Healthcare

Newswise — DANVILLE, Pa. and JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – March 1, 2013 – A new, low-cost software tool has nursing homes and home health agencies — with or without an electronic health record —contributing patient assessment information to any health information exchange (HIE). Developed by Geisinger Health System and powered by BridgeGate International, KeyHIE Transform™ is the magic bullet that ensures care coordination between healthcare providers.

KeyHIE Transform extracts clinically relevant patient information from the MDS (Minimum Data Set) or OASIS (Outcome and Assessment Information Set) that nursing homes and home health agencies are required to submit to CMS, and converts the information into a standardized CCD (continuity-of-care document) that meets HL7 standards. A CCD is easily incorporated into any (HIE) (health-information exchange) for access by participating clinicians to coordinate care for a patient as they transition from various healthcare settings.

"With the availability of clinical information increasing and healthcare costs rising, KeyHIE Transform has tremendous potential to provide clinicians with the best clinical information available at the moment they need it,” noted BridgeGate International’s CIO, Scott Sirdevan. “Geisinger’s commitment to innovation and their work to improve how care is delivered makes them an ideal partner for Bridgegate to pioneer new efficiencies in healthcare,” he said. “We believe KeyHIE will be an invaluable resource for skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and HIEs by dramatically enhancing the quality and effectiveness of patient care.”

"The implications of this partnership for healthcare are extraordinary," said Jim Younkin, Director of Geisinger’s KeyHIE. "As one of the nation's largest rural healthcare delivery systems and a member of the ONC-funded Keystone Beacon Community, we have an important role to play in helping to improve healthcare quality and value. We believe this solution, built on BridgeGate’s robust integration platform, is an important tool for our provider partners to help ensure patients receive the best possible care across the healthcare continuum.”

KeyHIE Transform was developed by Geisinger under the Keystone Beacon Community Program, which was established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to accelerate and demonstrate the ability of health IT to transform local healthcare systems to advance a patient-centered vision of care, improve care quality and reduce cost. One of the 17 communities selected by HHS to receive funding, Keystone Beacon is a network of healthcare providers in Central Pennsylvania — doctors, hospitals, long-term care communities and others — that joined together to help coordinate and manage their patients’ care, reduce hospital admissions, and improve their patients’ quality of life.

An aggressive roll-out plan has been outlined. Pilot sites are operational in February of 2013 with national availability in April of 2013. Details available on website: http://transform.KeyHIE.org

About BridgeGate InternationalThe BridgeGate® integration platform delivers millions of data transactions between thousands of organizations globally. BridgeGate provides robust, scalable integration solutions that connect disparate applications and technologies. BridgeGateHealth™’s any-to-any integration platform handles very complex data with virtually no coding required, reducing the complexity and length of integration projects to weeks or days resulting in lower costs.

BridgeGateHealth™ affects tens of millions of lives with integration solutions for healthcare providers connecting patient data (electronic health records, pharmacy, laboratory, radiology, medical devices, dietary, therapy, and billing) to insurers managing members (enrolment, eligibility, claims, payment, referrals, and formulary).

BridgeGate® is the premier order hub powering companies such as SkyMall and HSN. BridgeGateHealth™ as an order hub processes millions of transactions for e-prescribe integrations from pharmacy to durable medical equipment. BridgeGateHealth™ integration solutions cover the entire pharmacy fulfillment ecosystem including patient data, e-prescribe, CPOE, PIS, eMAR, automated dispensing, inventory, 340B, PBM, and Surescripts® using HL7 and NCPDP based standards as well as proprietary data formats.

Founded in 1999, BridgeGate International is privately-held and headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. www.bridgegateintl.com

About Geisinger Health SystemGeisinger Health System is an integrated healthcare delivery system widely recognized for its innovative use of the electronic health record, and the development of innovative care models such as ProvenHealth Navigator® and ProvenCare®. Geisinger serves more than 2.6 million residents throughout 44 counties in central and northeastern Pennsylvania. The physician-led system is comprised of more than 20,000 employees, including a 1,000-member multi-specialty group practice, six hospital campuses, two research centers and the 310,000-member Geisinger Health Plan, all of which leverage an estimated $5.5 billion positive impact on the Pennsylvania economy. The health system and the health plan have repeatedly garnered national accolades for integration, quality and service. In addition to fulfilling its patient care mission, Geisinger has a long-standing commitment to medical education, research and community service. For more information, visit Geisinger. Follow the latest Geisinger news and more at www.twitter.com/geisingerhealth and www.facebook.com/geisingerhealth.