Orion Health and Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum Announce Launch of LaHIE, Louisiana’s Statewide Health Information Exchange

SOURCE:  Orion Health

KENNER, LA – November 4, 2011 – Orion Health, Inc., the global leader in health information exchange (HIE) and healthcare integration solutions, and the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum (LHCQF) today announce the launch of LaHIE, Louisiana’s statewide health information exchange (HIE). LHCQF will announce the launch and demonstrate LaHIE with Orion Health at the Louisiana Chapter of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (LaHIMSS) 2011 state conference, held Nov. 3-4 at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, La.

LaHIE, an initiative of the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum, is currently being piloted in the Acadiana region and is the mechanism that will allow for the secure exchange of health information among authorized providers and across Louisiana’s healthcare system to help improve patient safety, quality of care and health outcomes. Orion Health is the primary technology provider for LaHIE, which is being deployed using Orion Health HIE, the company’s industry leading health information exchange solution.  LHCQF launched LaHIE within only 90 days awarding the contract to Orion Health.

“We’re very excited about reaching this milestone event,” said Cindy Munn, Executive Director of the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum.  “The launch represents the next critical step in Louisiana’s journey to advance health information technology and connectivity.  The successful exchange between Opelousas General Health System and Lafayette General Medical Center will create secure, real-time access to information for high quality patient care.  These facilities are founding members of LaHIE, and we commend them for their commitment and dedication.”

“It’s extremely gratifying for us at Orion Health to see the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum’s vision for connected healthcare become reality,” said Paul Viskovich, President of Orion Health North America. “We are proud to have been such an integral part of the project, bringing the HIE to launch in such a short time frame, and we look forward to seeing the ways in which LaHIE positively impacts the lives of residents and caregivers throughout the state of Louisiana.”

Entitled “Harmony in Healthcare,” the LaHIMSS conference will feature national and state speakers from organizations such as the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Louisiana Public Health Institute, LSU Health Sciences Center, Franciscan Health and Wellness Services, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. Topics to be highlighted include Meaningful Use, Heath Information Exchange, Healthcare Reform, ICD 10/HIPAA 5010 and Community Health Initiatives. For information about LaHIE, please contact Linda Morgan at lmorgan@lhcqf.org .

About the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum
The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum is a private, not-for-profit organization, dedicated to advancing evidence-based, collaborative initiatives to improve the health of Louisiana citizens.  Its main areas of focus include quality measurement, clinical quality improvement, the patient-centered medical home, outreach/education and health information technology.  The Quality Forum serves as the State-Designed Entity to lead the planning and implementation of health information technology grants contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

About Orion Health Inc.
Orion Health™ is the leading Health Information Exchange (HIE) solution provider with expertise in clinical workflow and integration technology for the healthcare sector. Orion Health’s easy-to-use solutions and applications improve patient care and clinical decision making by enabling the exchange of healthcare information among disparate systems and providing integrated health data in a single, unified view. By extending existing healthcare information systems, the Orion Health™ Rhapsody Integration Engine, recently registered as a Class I Medical Device with the FDA, and workflow solutions provide healthcare workers with easy access to patient data and trends, and reduce errors and omissions by streamlining information transfer. The HIE also supports Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) continuing their goal of improved care coordination, cost savings and better quality of care.

Worldwide, Orion Health has deployed health information communities involving over 35 million patients with hundreds of thousands of active clinical users including Maine’s HealthInfoNet, Alberta Health Services and Spain’s IB Salut. Orion Health’s partners include leading health system integrators and IT vendors such as Accenture, Allscripts, IBM, Oracle, Philips and others. Orion Health has more than 1,000 clients around the world, including Lahey Clinic, Ochsner Health System, UCLA Medical Center, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Spain’s IB Salut, South Eastern Norwegian Regional Health Authority, New Zealand Ministry of Health. Orion Health is a preferred Canada Health Infoway Solution. More information can be found at http://www.orionhealth.com.