Exchange Patient Information among Emergency Departments
Under this best practice, hospitals need to use a system to identify frequent emergency department users with the ability to access treatment plans and utilize the plans in providing care. There is an exception for Critical Access Hospitals demonstrating that implementation of such a system would create a major financial burden.
How to Accomplish
The best practice requires use of an electronic system to accomplish this goal. One system that fulfills Washington State’s standard is the Emergency Department Information Exchange (EDIE)
Most hospitals across Washington State are using the EDIE system. The system notifies physicians with information about frequency of ED visits and a summary of discharges for the past 12 months. Users have the ability to share patient guidelines with each other and load and view patient treatment plan.
