Associated Press
EMERYVILLE, Calif. — Manifest MedEx, California’s nonprofit health data network, has been selected by the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) for $4.9 million in grant funding to develop and implement an interoperable health information exchange between emergency ambulance service providers and hospitals.
Manifest MedEx will work together with six local EMS agencies, 13 EMS providers, and 16 hospitals to cover eight counties (Riverside, San Bernardino, Fresno, Tulare, San Joaquin, Merced, Amador, Stanislaus, Calaveras) and more than 7.6 million Californians following the Office of the National Coordinator’s model for Search, Alert, File, Reconcile (SAFR) capabilities under this grant.
By connecting EMS providers and their emergency department partners through SAFR, the nonprofit network will enable data-informed emergency care in the field, real-time notification to hospitals of incoming patients, and seamless data transfer between electronic patient care records and hospital electronic health records. Starting with a two-year program, this work is designed to create capabilities that can be scaled to other California communities in the future.
“Ambulance service is an incredibly critical point for patient communication,” said Erica Galvez, Chief Strategy Officer of Manifest MedEx. “On transport, patients may be unconscious and unable to communicate their serious allergies and medical history details. On arrival to the emergency department, providers need access to details from paramedics to act safely and quickly. Manifest MedEx is honored to be selected by EMSA as a trusted partner for seamlessly delivering life-saving health information when California patients are at their most vulnerable.”
More than 400 healthcare organizations in California are currently participants in Manifest MedEx, including recent additions of Health Net, Scripps Health, and AHMC Healthcare. The network delivers real-time notifications of hospital admit, discharge, transfer (ADT) activity as well as up to seven years of searchable medical record history to help healthcare leaders improve patient care and reduce costs.
Hospitals interested in joining Manifest MedEx should consider acting quickly in order to take advantage of the nonprofit’s special $60,000 bonus for participants that sign on before May 31, 2019, as part of the statewide Cal-HOP program. Learn more about Cal-HOP and the bonus incentive here.