Press Releases

Columbus – Nationwide Children’s Hospital is the first hospital in Central Ohio to join the new statewide health information exchange (HIE) that will allow sharing of patient health information among medical professionals across the state.

Currently, 89 hospitals in Ohio now are contracted with the Ohio Health Information Partnership, the Hilliard-based nonprofit that manages the exchange – called CliniSync. Thirty-seven hospitals are now live on the network , and more than 1,200 physicians have signed up for services with 700 already receiving results and reports directly from their local hospitals.

"Our physicians will have access to lab and radiology results, as well as transcribed reports, from other partner hospitals via the Ohio Health Information Partnership portal in an expedient, accurate manner," said Denise Zabawski, vice president and chief information officer for Information Services at Nationwide Children's. "Our goal in joining the HIE is to improve the continuity of patient care and communication between healthcare providers and enhance the ability of our physicians to quickly access necessary information about patients in order to initiate care faster.”

Dan Paoletti, chief executive officer of The Partnership, said he’s particularly excited that pediatricians and other clinicians who work directly with Nationwide Children’s Hospital will soon have access to real-time electronic information, rather than getting test results and reports through slower, antiquated methods such as faxing. Clinical information includes general laboratory, pathology, microbiology, blood blank results and transcribed reports, including radiology.

“The ability for hospitals and physicians to communicate electronically will streamline the delivery of critical results and reports, making the flow of information faster and even more accurate than on paper,” Paoletti said. “In the end, it comes down to patients and how the efficient exchange of health information will improve how different doctors can coordinate care for them in a more timely way.

“We’re excited Nationwide Children’s will be a leader in this transformation of health care in Central Ohio, connecting with so many of our rural and Appalachian physicians and hospitals that up until now, have not had the ability to electronically communicate,” Paoletti said.

Nationwide Children’s joins three other children’s hospitals in the network, including The Dayton Children’s Hospital, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies in Cleveland and Mercy Children’s Hospital in Toledo.

Nationwide Children’s has a medical staff of 1,100 and 10,000 employees who provide pediatric care with one million patient visits annually, including infants, children, adolescents and adults with congenital diseases. Ranked 7th of 12 hospitals on U.S. News & World Report’s 2012-2013 “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll,” it is not only a pediatric facility but also a research institute and the home of The Ohio State University College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics.