In an emergency, first responders and healthcare providers need critical information about you! They need to know your drug allergies and if you are taking prescription medications — ASAP. Linking Texas healthcare information makes this possible. It helps the everyday heroes working for you access your critical information immediately — when seconds count!
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that nearly half (45%) of prescription medication errors — including incorrect dose, allergic reactions to drugs and harmful drug interactions — were caused by missing patient medical records at the point of care.
When healthcare providers don’t have your medical records on file, they may order duplicate tests or costly procedures — even if you’ve already had them before! Linking Texas healthcare information together makes your medical records accessible — so you don’t have to undertake duplicate tests and costly procedures — offering you better, safer care at lower cost.
Health information systems helped four hospitals save $1,947 per patient (for a total of $1,035,654) by eliminating duplicate laboratory microbiology, radiology, consultation and hospital admission services, according to a American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) study.
If you’ve ever been referred to a specialist or admitted to a hospital, you’ve probably experienced frustrating delays while your “paperwork” crawls through the system. Linking Texas healthcare information together means you can visit your doctor, specialist or hospital right away — without waiting on your paper medical records to catch up with you.
A 2013 study by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) found that 8 out of 10 patients reported saving one hour and forty-five minutes in the Emergency Room — with better quality of care — thanks to use of healthcare information systems.
From the Tenet Sierra/Providence Health Network in El Paso to the world-renowned Texas Medical Center in Houston, from Children’s Medical Center in Dallas to the Valley Baptist Health System in the Rio Grande Valley, we Texans enjoy a healthcare system that is second to none.
But Texas is a big state. You can be far from home when an emergency strikes, and in that unfortunate event, emergency responders will need your medical records — right now! Or if your regular doctor advises you to seek urgent treatment from a specialist, you’ll first have to make sure your medical records get transferred before you can seek treatment.
Sound old-fashioned and inefficient? It is. That’s why the non-profit members of the Texas Association of Healthcare Information Organizations (TAHIO) have been working on your behalf to link Texas healthcare systems across the state.
Since our member health information organizations started linking Texas healthcare, we’ve provided Texans with more than 5 million critical medical record updates — from all points across Texas — and now more hospital systems, doctors and patients are joining us every day. Together we can continue to link Texas healthcare and keep the Texas healthcare system the best in the world.
While you may be worried about how your data can stay private in an electronic system, you should know that existing paper-based healthcare records actually pose a larger risk to the privacy and security of your personal information.
The fact is that across Texas today millions of paper health records are still stored in non-secure areas that are open to personnel who will search, pull, transfer and mail or fax copies of your personal health information.
This can happen each time your information moves between your primary physician, specialist, hospital or emergency responder. The very nature of large-scale storage of paper-based records makes it very difficult to ensure physical security of your data.
In contrast, health information technology significantly reduces the number of people who can come in contact with your personal healthcare records.
Only vetted and approved healthcare providers (credentialed by your regional TAHIO member) who have a one-to-one treating relationship with you as a patient can access your private healthcare information — and, most importantly, this access is provided on a need-to-know basis only.
All private healthcare data is protected with strong encryption using data security standards that meet or exceed HIPAA requirements. All data access activity is recorded, and can be traced and audited.
Across the state, Texans are demanding access to efficient, high-quality healthcare choices.
New health information technology offers you and your fellow Texans increased freedom of choice when selecting your healthcare provider, greater control over your personal medical records, and faster access to high-quality healthcare — at a lower cost than ever before.
Already over 2,500,000 Texans seeking medical care have benefited from this new technology, whether they were treated at large hospital systems, like the Harris Health System in the Houston area — or at individual community-oriented primary care doctors, like the family medical practice of Dr Becky Personnet in El Paso.
But Texas is a big country and the job is not yet complete.
We need to complete the work of expanding coverage across Texas so every Texan has equal access to their healthcare information. Adequate public funding is our number one challenge.
So we are asking you to join your fellow Texans in asking your State representatives and elected officials to support funding opportunities for our vital public health information systems.
Help the everyday heroes in healthcare — who work hard to safeguard your life and the lives of your friends and family — by giving them the tools they need to do their job.
Join us and support your local healthcare professionals whose good work depends on linking Texas together with regional public Healthcare Information systems.
The Texas Association of Healthcare Information Organizations (TAHIO) is the sponsor of this website, LinkTexas Healthcare. We are the trade association of the public / private health information organizations across Texas, including Integrated Care Collaboration (ICC), Paso del Norte Health Information Exchange, SETHS Operated Provider Health Information Exchange (SOPHIE), RioONE Health Information Exchange, Health Information Network of South Texas (HINSTX), Rio Grande Valley Health Information Exchange (RGVHIE), North Texas Accountable Healthcare Partnership (NTAHP), Healthcare Access San Antonio (HASA) and Greater Houston Healthconnect.
An agency of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is dedicated to improving health and well-being in Texas. Some key DSHS goals include: prevent and prepare for health threats, build capacity for improving community health, promote recovery for persons with infectious disease and mental illness, protect consumers, develop and expand integrated services, streamline administrative systems, maintain and enhance DSHS assets, nurture a unified workplace culture, expand the effective use of health information and build and sustain effective partnerships.
DSHS Website
Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has oversight over the entire Texas health and human services system, which is composed of five agencies: Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS), Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) and Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). The mission of HHSC is to maintain and improve the health and human services system in Texas and to administer its programs in accordance with the highest standards of customer service and accountability.
HHSC Website
The Texas Health Services Authority (THSA) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2007 as a public / private partnership, with the responsibility for coordinating the implementation of health information organizations across Texas. THSA defines the technical communication standards used to link Texas healthcare — making it possible for your medical records to follow you on a need-to-know basis, such as during an emergency, when you visit a specialist or are admitted to a hospital.
The THSA’s public website is HIETexas.org.
The Texas Medical Association (TMA) is the nation’s largest and one of its oldest and most powerful state medical societies. Its mission is to serve the people of Texas in matters of medical care, prevention and cure of disease, with an unwavering commitment to improve the public health of all Texans. TMA speaks out on behalf of nearly 45,000 physician and medical student members across the state. In partnership with 120 county medical societies, the Texas Medical Association has been helping Texas physicians set high professional and ethical standards since 1853.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), part of the Office of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has responsibility at the Federal level for leading health IT efforts and adoption of health information technology, including electronic exchange of health information. The position of National Coordinator was created in 2004 and legislatively mandated in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) of 2009.
ONC Website
Tell your State representatives and elected officials that we need to Link Texas Healthcare. Let them know you support access to health information technology for all Texans. It could save your life!
Just fill in the form below, and we’ll make sure they get the message.
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The Rio Grande Health Information Exchange (RGVHIE) serves the southern part of Texas along the border with Mexico. This region is growing rapidly — one of the region’s largest cities, McAllen, Texas, is also one of the fastest growing cities in the whole country. It’s estimated that there are at least 1.3 million potential patents […]
Once a very rural area, Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley is undergoing rapid change. Since the 1980’s and 1990’s, the advent of the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) has fueled rapid growth due to increased trade with Mexico and the new factories (maquiladoras) located on the Mexican side of the border. The growth has […]
If ever there was an example illustrating the challenges of providing equal access to healthcare information for all Texans, the case of SOPHIE would be near the top of the list. Why? SOPHIE has a different approach to helping link Texas healthcare. Unlike many of the metropolitan Health Information Organizations across Texas, SOPHIE is focused […]
While Texans may argue that their hometown has the best music scene, BBQ joints or Tex-Mex restaurants, there is one thing most Texans seem to agree on — their favorite Texas city to visit is San Antonio. And many San Antonio visitors seem to stay — permanently. During the period from 2000 to 2010, San […]
Learn more about how Greater Houston Healthconnect helps link health communities in Houston, Beaumont and Southeast Texas.
Visit the Healthconnect Website
Learn more about how HINSTX helps link health communities throughout South Texas.
Visit the HINSTX Website
Learn more about how HASA helps link health communities throughout the greater San Antonio region.
Visit the HASA Website
Learn more about how Integrated Care Collaboration helps link health communities in Austin and Surrounding Counties.
Visit the ICC Website
Learn more about how NTAHP helps link health communities throughout North Texas.
Visit the NTAHP Website
Learn more about how Paso del Norte helps link health communities in the El Paso region and throughout West Texas.
Visit the Paso del Norte Website
Learn more about how RGVHIE helps link health communities in the Rio Grande Valley.
Visit the RGVHIE Website
Learn more about how RioONE Health Information Exchange helps link health communities in the Rio Grande Valley.
Visit the RioONE Website
Learn more about how SOPHIE helps link rural health communities in Southeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle.
Visit the SOPHIE Website
The LinkTexas.Healthcare website is brought to you by TAHIO, the Texas Association of Healthcare Information Organizations. Our members are the regional health information organizations across Texas. Together we promote awareness of the benefits that health information technology brings to your healthcare. We also work in partnership with other state health organizations to advocate for better healthcare for all Texans.
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Let’s work together to improve healthcare in Texas!
