HIE launches free ADT service to expand health data exchange

Expanding HIE for care coordination

To address these gaps and help provider organizations comply with the new DxF, Manifest MedEx launched a free network for admission, discharge, and transfer (ADT) notifications.

ADT messages are a well-established data standard that provides information for events, including patient admissions, registrations, updates, and discharges.

"Based on our mission in establishing a health data safety net, we firmly believe that the best place to start is with ADTs," said Galvez. "It's a small set of information, but it's really impactful because it allows that care team to know what's happening with you to support you as you come out of the hospital."

"Usually, the only people who know that you are leaving the hospital are the people who are discharging you and your health plan if they have a good utilization management structure established," Galvez explained.

However, to drive care coordination, a patient's primary care team needs to know key information about the patient's episode of care, including prescriptions for new medications or needs for durable medical equipment.

"The information that we're able to provide based on that ADT message helps that care team know what you were prescribed coming out of the hospital, especially if we can couple that ADT message with a discharge summary," Galvez remarked.

The messages also include information on why the patient was admitted to the hospital, as well as where they were discharged, also known as discharge disposition.

"Disposition is a hugely important piece of information in ADT messages," Galvez said. "Where did the patient go when they came out of the hospital? Sometimes they go to a skilled nursing facility or a rehab facility, and sometimes they go home or other places."

Supporting DxF compliance

The California ADT network is available to DxF participants, including acute and post-acute organizations, as well as state-designated QHIOs.

"This service should help ease all of those data sharing requirements for participants," Galvez noted. "It may evolve in the future to include other types of organizations, but for now, the high value that we see is around inpatient or acute and post-acute episodes of care."

Galvez pointed out that brick-and-mortar healthcare facilities aren't the only ones that will benefit from this service; mobile clinics associated with health systems connected to the network or other QHIOs will also receive ADT notifications.

"Even those mobile clinics have a pathway to manage and support their patients in ways that they don't have if they're disconnected," Galvez emphasized. "You have to digital equity for your providers before you can start to really create health equity for your patients and your members."

Hannah Nelson has been covering news related to health information technology and health data interoperability since 2020.