Intermountain Health and UHIN Expand Data Sharing to Strengthen Care for Utah Patients

Expanded clinical data flowing into Utah’s Clinical Health Information Exchange gives care teams statewide a more complete, timely view of the patients they share.

SALT LAKE CITY – When a patient leaves an Intermountain emergency department and shows up at a community clinic two days later, what travels with them matters. Their medications, their discharge summary, the results that came back after they left – that context is what separates a care team that’s prepared from one that’s starting from scratch.

Intermountain Health and Utah Health Information Network (UHIN) are announcing a significant expansion of the clinical data Intermountain contributes to Utah’s Clinical Health Information Exchange (CHIE). UHIN, Utah’s nonprofit health data steward, has operated the CHIE for more than 30 years with a single mission: better care and lower cost through interoperability that works for everyone. The expanded data sharing means more of that critical context is already waiting when the next care team needs it, across every setting where Intermountain patients receive care.

More complete data, from the moment care continues
For years, Intermountain has shared admission, discharge, and transfer (ADT) notifications for inpatient and emergency encounters through the CHIE. That foundation has grown substantially. Outpatient ADTs are now flowing, automated delivery of clinical documents and results has been activated, and the two organizations are actively working to add radiology reports, EKG results, pulmonary function test results, and clinical documentation covering all inpatient and outpatient discharges. Because Intermountain serves such a large share of Utah’s population, each new data type meaningfully increases what’s available to every provider across the state who shares patients with them.

What this means for care teams and their patients
For clinicians, the expanded data sharing reduces the blind spots that make care harder than it needs to be. Near real-time discharge notifications, paired with clinical summaries and results, support confident decisions at the point of care and timely post-discharge follow-up during the critical 72-hour window after a hospital stay. Better information also means fewer unnecessary repeat tests and a lower risk of the kind of errors that most often occur when records don’t follow patients from one setting to the next.

The people who stand to benefit most are those who navigate multiple care settings because of where they live, what their insurance covers, or the complexity of their health needs. These are often the patients least likely to have a single coordinated care team advocating for them, and the ones for whom gaps in the clinical record carry the greatest risk. A more complete shared record doesn’t just make care more efficient; for many patients it makes it meaningfully safer.

That’s especially true in emergency situations, when a patient may not be able to speak for themselves. Having prior clinical history available in those moments – current medications, known conditions, recent results – can make a critical difference in how quickly and accurately care is delivered.

Through UHIN’s participation in national networks including Patient Centered Data Home (PCDH) and eHealth Exchange, these benefits extend beyond Utah as well, with clinical information following patients as they move across organizations and state lines.

“What Intermountain has built here reflects something we don’t always get to celebrate in health IT: a health system that treats data sharing as a responsibility, not just a feature. The clinical record available to providers across Utah is meaningfully richer because of the work Intermountain and our teams have done together, and that ultimately shows up as better, more connected care for the patients we all serve.” – Navina Forsyth, Ph.D., M.P.A., Chief Data & Privacy Officer, UHIN

“As an emergency physician, I know exactly what it feels like to care for a patient whose story I can only see part of. Every missing medication, every unseen result, every prior visit we can’t find is a decision made with less than the full picture. Expanding what Intermountain contributes to the CHIE is one of the most tangible ways we can change that for the patients we share with providers across Utah. Our responsibility to the people we care for doesn’t stop at our doors, and neither should their record.” – Tamara Moores Todd, MD, Chief Health Informatics Officer, Intermountain Health

A shared resource, built by many
Intermountain’s expanded contribution builds on years of investment by the many Utah health systems, providers, and health plans that have shared data through the CHIE. The exchange works because organizations keep contributing to it, and what Intermountain has added strengthens something that belongs to the entire community. What makes this moment notable is not just the scope of what has been added, but the speed with which both teams made it happen – a reflection of what’s possible when organizations are genuinely aligned around a shared mission.

What’s next
Upcoming priorities include extending automated clinical document delivery to cover all inpatient and outpatient discharges, along with adding radiology reports, EKG results, and pulmonary function test results to the data flowing through the CHIE. Each addition moves Utah closer to the kind of continuous, portable clinical record that makes genuinely coordinated care possible across every setting where patients receive it.

About UHIN
UHIN is Utah’s nonprofit, neutral data trustee, connecting providers, payers, and public health through trusted, interoperable infrastructure that improves care across the state and beyond. As both Utah’s state-designated health information exchange (HIE) and a full-service clearinghouse, UHIN sits at the intersection of clinical and administrative data. For more than 30 years, this community-anchored, mission-driven model has reduced administrative burden, improved care coordination, and delivered measurable value in cost, quality, and outcomes. Rooted in Utah. Connected nationally. Committed to turning better data interactions into better care.

About Intermountain Health
Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 34 hospitals and ~400 clinics across six western states, employing 4,600+ providers and serving 1M+ Select Health members. Focused on community health and evidence-based care, the system is a leader in high-quality, sustainable healthcare.

Media Contacts
UHIN: Desiree Jenkinson, Head of Marketing, djenkinson@uhin.org, 877-693-3071
Intermountain Health: Lance Madigan, Media Relations Manager, Lance.Madigan@imail.org, 801-442-3217

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Unlocking the Potential of FHIR: An Overview of its Impact and Future

Doctor hands on tablet with hologram overlay of patient data

As the CTO of UHIN, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges and frustrations of trying to achieve seamless interoperability. Data silos, incompatible formats, and outdated standards have long hindered our ability to share information effectively. But HL7® FHIR® (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) offers a glimmer of hope, a path toward a more connected and efficient healthcare ecosystem.

Understanding FHIR: A Paradigm Shift

FHIR represents a paradigm shift in healthcare data exchange. Unlike older standards like HL7 v2, which often resemble complex, rigid blueprints, FHIR is akin to a set of modular building blocks. These blocks, called “resources,” represent discrete units of healthcare information – a patient record, a medication order, a lab result, and so on.

The true power of FHIR lies in its flexibility. Resources can be combined and exchanged in various ways to suit specific needs. Need to share a patient’s medication history with a specialist? FHIR allows you to do that without sending the entire medical record. Want to integrate a new mobile app with your EHR system? FHIR’s web-friendly technologies make it easier than ever.

Dispelling the Myths: FHIR is NOT a Panacea

While FHIR offers immense potential, it’s important to be realistic about its limitations. It’s not a magic wand that will instantly solve all our interoperability woes.

First and foremost, FHIR is a standard, not a solution. It provides a common language for exchanging healthcare data, but it doesn’t address the underlying technical and organizational challenges that often impede interoperability.

Second, FHIR is not a plug-and-play technology. Implementing it requires careful planning, technical expertise, and collaboration among stakeholders. Organizations with legacy systems may face particularly daunting challenges.

Finally, FHIR doesn’t guarantee interoperability. While it facilitates the exchange of data, it doesn’t ensure that the data will be understood and used consistently across different systems. Achieving true interoperability requires not just technical compatibility but also semantic interoperability – the ability to interpret and apply data in a meaningful way.

The Benefits of FHIR: A Catalyst for Innovation

Despite its limitations, FHIR offers significant advantages over older standards. Its flexibility, ease of use, and strong community support make it a powerful catalyst for innovation.

By adopting FHIR, healthcare organizations can:

  • Improve data sharing: FHIR enables more granular and tailored data exchange, making it easier to share information with the right people at the right time.
  • Accelerate development: FHIR’s web-friendly technologies lower the barrier to entry for developers, potentially leading to faster innovation.

For example, UHIN’s Clinical Health Information Exchange (the CHIE)  is currently migrating to a new FHIR-enabled platform. Built on a highly scalable architecture, the platform allows for more efficient and secure sharing of data across enterprises.

The Road Ahead: A Strategic Approach to FHIR Adoption

To reap the full benefits of FHIR, healthcare organizations need to adopt a strategic approach. This involves:

  • Developing a clear roadmap: Start by defining your interoperability goals and identifying specific use cases where FHIR can add value. Transitioning totally functional workflows from older specifications to FHIR, just for the sake of using a more modern data structure, won’t create new healthcare outcomes on its own. We need to use FHIR when it’s appropriate and when it will provide the most advantage to our interoperability goals. 
  • Building a strong foundation: Invest in the necessary infrastructure, tools, and expertise to support FHIR implementation.
  • Collaborating with stakeholders: Engage with vendors, partners, and other stakeholders to ensure that FHIR implementations are aligned and interoperable.
  • Focusing on education and training: Ensure that your team has the knowledge and skills to work with FHIR effectively. While the FHIR structure can lead to an easier onboarding of software engineers, it also increases the complexity of a given use case by having multiple resources required to accomplish the same goal that a single CCDA may have solved previously. HL7 International offers online courses covering the fundamentals (for a price) and educational videos on its YouTube page here.
  • Embracing a culture of innovation: Foster a willingness to experiment and adapt as FHIR evolves. Many early adopters of FHIR were burned by the rapid change that occurred from version to version of FHIR. Knowing that there will be maturation of the standard is important to understand before starting an implementation. 

Conclusion: The Future of Healthcare Data Exchange is FHIR

FHIR is not a silver bullet, but it is a significant step forward in our quest for interoperability. By embracing FHIR and addressing the challenges it presents, we can unlock a wealth of opportunities to improve healthcare delivery, enhance patient outcomes, and drive innovation.

The future of healthcare data exchange is FHIR. Let’s seize this opportunity to build a more connected and efficient healthcare ecosystem.


Bi-Directional Exchange: Physician Fee Schedule Update

The CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule introduced the HIE Bi-Directional Exchange measure for MIPS. Financial incentives are available for providers who participate in an HIE that both sends and receives healthcare data for every patient encounter, transition or referral, and record stored or maintained in the provider’s EHR. 

Interoperability is a core focus of UHIN’s mission, and UHIN therefore supports the efforts by CMS to promote data exchange standards. The Clinical Health Information Exchange (CHIE) fulfills the standards set by CMS for bi-directional data exchange. In order to meet requirements, the HIE must be capable of exchanging information across a broad network of unaffiliated exchange partners including those using disparate EHRs, and must not engage in exclusionary behavior when determining exchange partners. The CHIE data exchange succeeds at bi-directional exchange according to these standards, and UHIN is pleased to announce that any CHIE customer can therefore qualify for the new physician fee schedule rule. 

The CHIE exchanges data with over 1,300 healthcare providers and more than 50 payers nationwide. With over a decade of experience furthering interoperability through electronic data exchange, UHIN is prepared to help providers work towards better and more effective healthcare data sharing.

If are a current CHIE customer, please contact our support team to learn how to get set up for bi-directional exchange reporting! 

If you are not a current CHIE customer, but you would like to qualify for the bi-directional exchange rule, call us at 877-693-3071 or send a message to chiesupport@uhin.org!