(The below ran in the ABQ Journal on Sunday, February 9, 2025)
The average individual sees 4 healthcare providers per year, typically requiring the sharing of medical records between these facilities to successfully provide care to the individual. In most instances, the patient is asked to carry paper records between their healthcare providers. Optimal decision making to care for patients requires a more efficient and timely exchange of health data between the different healthcare providers an individual may see in a year. This is where a Health Information Exchange (HIE) helps, taking the electronic records from each individual hospital or doctor’s office and securely sharing the data between the different healthcare providers through the HIE. Data is shared using national interoperability standards and security.
An HIE allows healthcare providers from different organizations to securely access and share patient medical records to support improved care at the point of care, provide care coordination when patients are referred to another provider, enhance patient safety by providing a comprehensive view of a patient’s health history across various healthcare settings, as well as improved public health surveillance. New Mexico’s designated HIE, SYNCRONYS, is a New Mexico not for profit organization, providing support to healthcare providers, hospitals, state agencies and managed care organizations statewide. Most states have an HIE and some with a larger population have multiple HIEs. New Mexico significantly invested in its HIE in 2019, supported with state and Federal HITECH funds. In partnership with the New Mexico Health Care Authority, previously the NM Human Services Department, the work to build the enhanced HIE with SYNCRONYS was completed in September 2021.
The last decade has witnessed tremendous digital transformation in every sector, including healthcare. Nationally, the framework to build the health information infrastructure to exchange data began in 2004 when then President George W. Bush signed an executive order establishing the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC). The goal of the ONC was to develop standards and technology to transition medical records from paper charts to electronic health records (EHR). In 2009, then President Obama signed the HITECH Act, and the Meaningful Use program began in 2011, providing incentives to healthcare providers to adopt EHRs. By 2014 over 95% of hospitals and 75% of ambulatory physician practices adopted EHRs. EHRs allowed for efficient sharing of patient information within the individual hospitals and physician offices.
The healthcare organizations connected to SYNCRONYS can find and retrieve their patient information with near-instantaneous access. With the rising cost of healthcare and the shortage of healthcare professionals, easy and efficient access to health information is critical to care for New Mexicans. SYNCRONYS was designed around three pillars: to make health information available at the Point of Care; offer care management solutions to improve Population Health and Quality and to provide access to a unique blend of health and demographic data to inform Community Programs and Strategic Planning.
At point of care SYNCRONYS:
- provides data aggregation from diverse EHRs, laboratories, imaging centers, and prescriptions into a centralized repository accessible to authorized healthcare providers.
- allow clinicians to make informed decisions at the point of care, reducing unnecessary tests and procedures due to access to potentially duplicative procedures.
- coordinate communication between all healthcare providers involved in a patient’s care, allowing them to collaborate on a treatment plan, share progress and identify potential medication interactions.
To support population health, SYNCRONYS is used to analyze aggregated health data across a population, enabling both health care providers and public health officials with the New Mexico Department of Health, to identify trends, target interventions, and monitor disease outbreaks. Policy makers and programs can use aggregated health related data to identify gaps in services to develop and implement programs to support individual populations and areas of the state to improve health outcomes. Priority programs and initiatives SYNCRONYS currently supports in New Mexico are behavioral health, prenatal health care and the treatment of Hepatitis C.
The benefits SYNCRONYS provides to the medical community and patients are improved quality of care, cost reduction and efficiency. SYNCRONYS provides a complete picture of a patient’s health history, allowing for a more accurate diagnoses to be made, and potential health risks identified. The use of the HIE can reduce redundant tests that are often paid out of pocket by the patient, with the shift of costs to patients with high deductible plans this is important to individuals, as well as the time and stress of potentially unnecessary procedures. The use of the HIE also improves the efficiency of a medical practice, as records from outside of their facility are obtained from the HIE central repository, no longer requiring phone calls to fax records.
SYNCRONYS, as New Mexico’s HIE plays a significant role in modern healthcare, enabling the secure sharing of medical information, leading to improved quality of care, enhanced patient safety and more efficient healthcare delivery. We are committed to data privacy and security, ensuring patient data is protected through robust security measures and compliance with privacy regulations. Exchanging data through SYNCRONYS is aligned with HIPAA and the New Mexico Medical Record Act. SYNCRONYS is committed to being the trusted information resource to support improved health and quality of life in New Mexico.
About SYNCRONYS
SYNCRONYS is the designated Health Information Exchange (HIE) of the State of New Mexico. As a private, not-for-profit organization SYNCRONYS was formed in 1990, to improve healthcare for all New Mexicans. For more information visit www.SYNCRONYS.org.
For more information, please contact:
Ann Nevarez
Executive Assistant
Phone: 505-938-9917
Email: [email protected]
