In a big advance for interoperability in mid-Missouri, the Tiger Institute Health Alliance HIE has linked up the Sequoia Project eHealth Exchange.

The HIE, which includes University of Missouri Health Care, Capital Region Medical Center and other area clinics and post-acute care providers, can now more easily share records with sprawling SSM Health, which comprises 20 hospitals and more than five dozen ambulatory sites in Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. 

The Tiger Institute for Health Innovation was launched in 2009 as a unique public-private partnership between University of Missouri and Kansas City-based Cerner, with a full-court-press on health IT adoption and optimization. The Sequoia Project has its roots in the former Nationwide Health Information Network, which was established by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and later taken private.

[Also: Sequoia Project, DirectTrust tout interoperability surge]

Since SSM Health is a member of the Sequoia Project's eHealth Exchange, data can now be seamlessly and securely shared among its providers and members of the Tiger Institute Health Alliance, officials say.

"If we have patients from Jefferson City, St. Louis or other SSM Health sites visit our health system, we now can see a history of the care they’ve received," said Thomas Selva, MD, pediatrician and chief medical information officer at MU Health Care, in a statement. "This helps us provide the most appropriate, safe and streamlined care for these patients."

"The newly established interoperability with MU Health Care and other member providers enable our physicians and other caregivers to obtain a complete view of the health history of our patients," added Richard Vaughn, MD, CMIO for SSM Health.

"As a result, we can make faster and better care decisions, avoid duplicating expensive tests, and ensure that patients who’ve previously received care at MU Health Care and other member facilities receive the safest and best care possible."

SSM Health has embarked on several interoperability-related projects in recent years, such as a data exchange agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense and its implementation of the Surescripts National Record Locator Service.

"Interoperability is not just a buzzword at SSM Health," said Vaughn. "It’s becoming a way of life and a key method to help us continually create a better patient experience and provide better care."

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Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com