Health Information Exchanges (HIE), HIE Benefits, and Your Choices
You may receive some of your health care from providers other than through Wellington Estates. These other providers may include physicians, advanced practice nurses, hospitals, home health entities, ambulatory surgical centers; emergency medical services providers, group practices, pharmacies, pharmacists, laboratories and others. Wellington Estates understands that securely providing these other healthcare providers with up-to-date information about the health care you received at Wellington Estates provides these other healthcare providers a vehicle for improving the quality and safety of the healthcare that you receive from them. To facilitate the secure electronic sharing of your health care information among your health care providers, Wellington Estates participates in a health information exchange (HIE) which enables the secure electronic sharing of your health information with other HIE participants providing your health care.
What is a Health Information Exchange (HIE)?
An HIE is an electronic network that allows those involved in your health care, such as providers, nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, medical practices, clinics, hospitals, surgery centers, and health insurance companies, to securely access and share your health information electronically. Appropriate and timely sharing of vital patient information can better inform decision making at the point of care and allow health care providers to improve the quality and safety of the health care being provided to you. For example, if you are hospitalized, that hospital will be able to quickly access your medical history during your admission at Wellington Estates without the delay of having to wait for this information to be faxed or mailed. Only individuals and companies involved with providing or paying for your health care are permitted to access your health information. Wellington Estates’ HIE may also participate in other HIEs to expand access to your health information to health care providers participating in an HIE other than Wellington Estates’ HIE. Wellington Estates’ HIE participates in the New Jersey Health Information Network (NJHIN) which, in turn, securely shares your information with all HIEs participating in the NJHIN to provide a statewide system of secure electronic sharing of health information to your health care providers.
What information will be shared with other Health Care Providers through the HIE?
Your protected health information will be provided to the HIE only for use by your other healthcare providers in providing treatment to you. This health information could include reports about your illnesses, injuries, allergies, medicines and test results. The information to be shared also includes health information about you that is more protected under law, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), sexually transmitted diseases, behavioral and mental health information, genetic diseases or genetic testing and substance use disorder.
What are the benefits of HIE health information sharing?
HIEs enable your up to date health information to be available to your healthcare providers to facilitate making your current or future treatments better. HIEs will also provide your participating health care providers to access complete and timely information about your health care history at Wellington Estates at the time they are providing care to you. The benefits of participating in an HIE include:
- Improves health care coordination
- Provides caregivers with clinical decision support tools for more effective care and treatment
- Improves the quality and safety of care
- Prevents delays in care
- Eliminates redundant or unnecessary testing
- Reduces health care costs
- Makes the overall patient experience better
HIE’s that Wellington Estates participates in may change from time to time and Wellington Estates may participate in additional HIEs.
Your Participation in an HIE is Your Choice
New Jersey law requires your medical information to be automatically made available by Wellington Estates through an HIE unless you choose to opt-out.
How do I opt-out from participating in Wellington Estates’ HIE?
If you decide to opt out of participation in Wellington Estates’ HIE, Wellington Estates will not share any of your health information through the HIE and your other health care providers will not be able to access your Wellington Estates health information through an HIE. You may opt-out at any time. To do so, please complete Wellington Estates’ Opt-Out Form which can be accessed at our Opt-Out Form Page or at https://wellingtonestates.com/opt-out-form/ and submit it Wellington Estates as indicated on the form. If you do not have access to a computer and require a printed form, please contact Wellington Estates’ Privacy Officer at 732-282-1014.
How do I opt back into participating in Wellington Estates’ HIE?
If you change your mind after you opt-out, you may opt back in at any time by completing Wellington Estates’ Cancellation of Opt-Out Form which can be accessed at our Cancellation of Opt out form and at https://wellingtonestates.com/cancellation-of-opt-out-form/ and submitting this form to Wellington Estates as indicated on the form. If you do not have access to a computer and require a printed form, please contact Wellington Estates’ Privacy Officer at 732-282-1014.
Your Opt-Out of into participating in Wellington Estates’ HIE does not prevent your other healthcare providers from sharing your information with their HIEs nor does it prevent Wellington Estates from sharing your health information through other alternate legally permitted methods.
Importantly, your decision to opt-out of participation in Wellington Estates’ HIE(s), will not prevent your other health care providers from sharing your health information with the HIE(s) in which they participate and Wellington Estates from accessing that health information unless and until you also opt-out of participation in your other healthcare provider’s HIE(s). It is also important to understand that choosing not to participate in Wellington Estates’ HIEs does not prohibit Wellington Estates from sharing your information with others involved in your care using alternate methods permitted by law including, but not limited to, methods, phone, fax, mail, secure email or other electronic communications.
Questions
If you have any questions about Wellington Estates’ participation in HIEs or your choices, please contact Wellington Estates’ Privacy Officer at 732-282-1014 by phone and privacy-officer@wellingtonestates.com by email.
