Frequently Asked Questions

Background on RHIO's

Regional Health Information Organizations, or RHIOs, are designed to improve the safety, quality and efficiency of health care. RHIO’s are the proposed building blocks of a national health information network (NHIN) originally proposed by David Brailer MD and his team at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT). The terms RHIO and health information exchange (HIE) are often used interchangeably. But a RHIO is best thought of as a governance entity, while an HIE is more appropriately considered a process. In any case, both concepts require extensive collaboration by a diverse set of participants.

About BHIX

BHIX is a not-for-profit RHIO connecting healthcare providers -- including hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies -- and payers throughout Brooklyn with access to patient information from a variety of sources across the continuum of care.

How it works

A web-based portal makes clinical data exchange available to Participants. This tool allows authorized users associated with each Participant to search by patient name or other identifiers to obtain patient-centric clinical information.

Who provides data?

Health information in BHIX comes from a growing number of Health Information Sources including an expanding list of BHIX Participants, health insurers and others. Over time, BHIX will also build connections to receive data from pharmacies, labs and other RHIOs. BHIX also intend to build connections in order to indorporate data from patient’s Personal Health Records.

Who can access BHIX and for what purpose?

Access to patient data will be limited to individuals authorized to use the system by a BHIX Participant. Each BHIX Participant enters into a Participation Agreement with BHIX specifying the responsibilities of both BHIX and the Participant to safeguard patient data and use it only for appropriate and authorized purposes. Currently approved uses include treatment and quality improvement for Participating Providers and disease management for Participating Payers.

Does the patient have a say?

Yes. Patients will choose whether to participate after being informed of the capabilities of the online health information exchange. Prior to clinical information being exchanged for routine treatment, the patient must provide explicit written consent for each Participant (and its authorized users) to access BHIX. The patient’s consent is durable, but revocable at any time.

How do Patients Learn about BHIX?

BHIX will be conducting a public information campaign to inform patients about the scope of its services and the health information exchange it facilitates. Each Participant is encouraged to educate patients about BHIX and BHIX will assist Participants in communicating with their patients. Participants will receive a patient Q&A document, a supply of Patient Education Fact Sheet, Patient Consent Forms, and other pertinent information.

How is patient privacy protected?

BHIX will adhere to all state and federal laws and regulations regarding Protected Health Information. A patient’s data will be shared for authorized puposes only after obtaining his/her consent. Every patient has the right to refuse to allow a Participant access to his/her medical information through BHIX.

What happens to the data when the provider is finished using BHIX?

The record a provider views via BHIX is not saved except for audit purposes. The provider will be able to print the data he/she is viewing if desired.