Why connect my EHR with Reliance?
Connecting your EHR to Reliance can improve your productivity and that of your staff, help you meet Meaningful Use Stage 2 and 3 requirements, and help you better care for your patients without ever having to leave your clinical record. With a Reliance interface, you can:
- View the results and reports for lab tests and diagnostics performed on your patient—those you ordered and those ordered by other providers.
- Send a Continuity of Care Document (CCD)/clinical summary to the Reliance community, where other providers caring for your patient can view information without having to call your office for the information or repeat tests on your patient.
- Query the Reliance community health record right from the patient’s chart in your EHR to understand who else is caring for your patient and what information they have made available for you to better care for your patient.
- Coordinate care by receiving notifications and CCDs when your patients are discharged from the hospital, helping you to meet CMS requirements for transitions of care.
- Communicate via secure messaging with other providers in the Reliance network as well as those in other “Trusted” Direct messaging networks.
What do I get when I connect my EHR with Reliance?
Reliance can work with your EHR vendor on a bundled interface that includes clinical results, summary document exchange and sign-on from an EHR.
- Results Delivery – A direct interface with your EHR allows Reliance to deliver results and reports directly into your electronic record. With the Reliance interface you get a direct data feed from all data senders participating with Reliance, including participating hospitals and other providers. In most cases, your EHR vendor can also match the data coming from Reliance with the patient in your EHR for speedier charting.
- Summary Document Exchange – Your EHR may also support your ability to generate and send a summary record or Continuity of Care Document (CCD) to Reliance so that other providers can understand the problems and allergies your patients have and the medications you have prescribed.
- Single Sign-On from EHR – For those whose EHRs are capable of launching Reliance applications within their clinical systems, Reliance can be accessed direction from your EHR. That means, you never have to leave your EHR. When you or your staff is reviewing a patient’s chart, you can launch the Reliance application to view the patient’s history in the community health record. You may also “download” a summary document that includes the information you want to bring into your EHR (e.g., lab results, radiology reports, etc.).
- Electronic Orders – Some EHR vendors can support a bi-directional interface to Reliance, meaning that you will be able to order tests from your EHR through Reliance to a Reliance participating hospital or lab.
What is required to connect my EHR with Reliance?
Reliance can interface to any EHR product that is capable of connecting via a web-service interface using HL7 (health level 7) standard language. Ask your EHR vendor if they have this capability. You and/or your vendor may contact Reliance to further discuss these requirements.
How much does it cost to connect my EHR with Reliance?
Reliance does not charge providers/clinics for the Reliance side of the interface, provided that you agree to implement a bundled Reliance interface (results, summary record and single sign-on). Contact Reliance to make sure you are getting the Reliance bundled interface package at no charge.
What do I have to do to connect my EHR with Reliance?
First, you must enroll in Reliance by filling out an enrollment form. Next, you will work with the Reliance implementation team to complete a practice planner and questionnaire (with your EHR vendor) that determines what health information you will be receiving from Reliance and how you will be sending summary records to Reliance. Reliance will then work with you and your vendor to implement the interface, test the single sign-on, and validate the integrity of the data going into and coming from your EHR.
Thinking of transitioning to an EHR?
If your organization is still determining which EHR to purchase, please refer to the list of EHR products certified by the ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies on the Certified Health IT Product List. These vendors are certified to support federal meaningful use requirements.
Contact Reliance at info@RelianceHIE.org or (855)-290-5443 for more information about connecting with Reliance and working with your EHR vendor.