Health Information Exchange (HIE) Portal
Easing patient data access and enhancing care coordination, healthEconnect’s Alaska HIE Portal connects EMRs between different healthcare providers. This provider-centric platform enables care teams to access and share vital medical information across systems, ensuring they have the right data at the right time. Whether embedded directly into existing EMRs or accessed securely through our online HIE Portal, the streamlined tools help providers deliver informed, timely care—where seconds can make all the difference.
How the HIE Portal Works
The HIE network securely exchanges health data between different electronic medical records (EMRs), ensuring both privacy and compliance while enhancing care coordination. Through our HIE Portal, providers from all areas of care can access vital information with ease. The portal brings together multiple applications in one place, ensuring timely access to the right data for delivering the care patients need. It can be accessed directly via a browser or seamlessly within the provider’s EMR.
In short, the HIE:
- Facilitates secure data sharing between different EMRs.
- Provides health data in various secure formats, based on need and allowable uses.
- Fully complies with HIPAA and state/federal privacy regulations.
- Does not own the data.
- Does not share data outside of a care relationship or authorized public health use.
- Does not share data with law enforcement.
- Does not use data for research purposes.
- Does not function as an EMR.
Types of Data
The HIE provides care teams access to the following types of patient information:
- Hospital admissions & discharges
- Laboratory orders & results
- Radiology reports
- Clinical encounter notes
- Medication history
- Demographics
- Social & behavioral data
HIE Portal Uses
Point of Care
The HIE Portal provides information from across care organizations for point-of-care decision making.
Care Coordination
Provider-driven notifications and filters allow efficient coordination of care.
Public Health Data Utility
Collecting and connecting disparate information sources to streamline public health data collection.
Managing Cost of Care
Providing data to connect individuals with the right care at the right time supports efficiencies in cost of care.
Why use the HIE Portal?
Improve patient outcomes.
By providing real-time access to comprehensive patient data across care settings, the HIE enables providers to make more informed decisions, avoid medical errors, reduce delays in treatment, and ensure continuity of care, all of which contribute to improved patient outcomes.
Eliminate duplicative laboratory and imaging requests.
The HIE allows providers to access a patient's medical history, including prior test results, reducing the need for repeated diagnostics and minimizing unnecessary procedures.
Reduce emergency department admissions and readmissions.
The HIE enables timely access to patient data, allowing for quicker interventions and better management of chronic conditions.
Increase referral rates and care coordination.
The HIE facilitates seamless data sharing between providers, ensuring timely follow-ups and more effective transitions of care.
Expand behavioral health and social determinants of health data support.
The HIE integrates relevant patient information, such as behavioral health history, housing, and socioeconomic factors, into the clinical workflow, enabling providers to offer more holistic, personalized care that addresses both medical and non-medical needs.
Decrease administrative burden and total costs of care.
By streamlining data exchange and improving care coordination between providers, the HIE reduces the need for faxes and cuts down on the administrative burden of medical record requests. This helps minimize duplication, reduce paperwork, and ultimately lower the total costs of care.
HIE Portal Tools & Applications
Clinical Information
Clinical Information
PDMP
PDMP
Population Explorer
Population Explorer
Frequently Asked Questions
Through the healthEconnect portal, providers can access patient health information such as demographics (age, gender, and address); medications; allergies; immunizations; health conditions; reports, including labs; provider’s notes and summaries from other healthcare organizations; and care coordination documents.
Not all health clinics or providers share information with healthEconnect Alaska. Patients can ask their care providers if they are participating.
Certain types of sensitive health information may not be disclosed under federal laws without the patient’s prior written authorization.
You can find more substance use-specific FAQs here.
Protecting data is healthEconnect Alaska’s highest priority. Our privacy and security practices have been HITRUST-certified, meaning they adhere to the highest industry standards and best practices. All transmissions are encrypted into a type of language that can only be translated, or decrypted, by certified professionals who have the authority to do so.
All healthEconnect Alaska participants must sign a data-use agreement, which regulates and determines permitted uses and exchange, including privacy and security. Audits are continually performed to monitor data access. healthEconnect Alaska is compliant with HIPAA and other relevant legal requirements.
Patient information within the HIE is securely guarded and only accessible to authorized entities—the HIE participants—who contract with healthEconnect Alaska. HIE participants are bound by federal and state laws, including HIPAA. Moreover, they must adhere to healthEconnect’s stringent policies governing the proper use of patient information within the HIE.
A patient’s care team, which may include doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers, along with their health plan and those working on a patient’s behalf, are among the participants who can access health information in an HIE. The intent behind this access is to streamline a patient’s treatment process, coordinate care, manage cases, plan transitions of care, and handle payment for treatment. This information is only shared with healthcare providers who list patients in their practice or at the hospital. Providers must have an existing patient relationship to view their data in the HIE.
When required by law, certain approved entities like medical examiners and certain public health authorities might access the HIE for specific, permitted purposes.
At healthEconnect Alaska, we take data privacy and security very seriously. The use of the HIE is strictly governed and controlled to protect patient information and may only be used consistent with the law or our HIE policies.
Patients can request an accounting of disclosures from healthEconnect Alaska. This list of providers will include everyone who has seen any of your data in healthEconnect Alaska. You can request that list by completing the web form at: https://disclosures.crisphealth.org/.
Providers that would like to become healthEconnect Alaska participants can contact us at: info@healtheconnectAK.org or (866) 966-9030, ext. 4., and request a participation agreement.
Patients can always opt out of sharing their data. If a provider’s facility participates in the network, a patient’s health information will be accessible through healthEconnect Alaska. Just like health records in a medical clinic or healthcare organization, only those involved in a patient’s care can access their information through the HIE.
Patients can decide to opt out and not have their health records accessible to their healthcare providers through the HIE. The choice a patient makes will not affect their ability to access medical care If a patient decides to opt out, their health records will not be searchable through the HIE, but their treating provider will still be able to receive their lab results, radiology reports, and other information through traditional fax, mail, or other electronic communications.
Patients should understand that when they opt out, their medical information will not be readily available to help participating physicians manage their care, even in an emergency. Their choice is personal and will only be shared with their physician. An opt-in/out consent form, which includes patient participation options, can be found here: Opt-In/Out Form
You can find more patient-specific FAQs here.
Yes, patients who voluntarily choose to share sensitive data may opt in.
Currently, access is only provided to health care providers and members of the care team.
CRISP Certifications
