Get the Facts About CliniSync

Crash through brick and mortar. Access the right data when and where you need it. Get patient health information quickly. Coordinate care with other health professionals.

Breaking through the brick and mortar of hospital corridors and practice walls, we’re building a health exchange that allows everyone in the healthcare community to exchange patient health information, no matter where they’re located.

As one of the most successful health information exchanges in the nation, CliniSync has connected 149 of 157 contracted hospitals. We’ve also connected thousands of physicians and  more than 500 long-term, post-acute care facilities. Our Provider Directory includes 15,000 Direct email addresses. We’re not just connecting physicians and practices, we’re involving EMS personnel so they can view information on the run, providing notifications if someone is admitted or discharged from the hospitao or Emergency Department, and facilitating the exchange of Continuity of Care Documents so clinicans can get a better picture of a patient’s health.

Find out more about CliniSync by clicking on the FAQs below. If you can’t find the information you need, contact us at: information@ohiponline.org

What is a health information exchange (HIE)?

A health information exchange (HIE) is a secure computer network that connects electronic health record systems used by different healthcare providers. The exchange allows those providers to share clinical and demographic information about patients they have in common quickly and securely to improve care coordination and efficiency. In Ohio, our HIE is CliniSync, a combination of Clinical Information + Synchronicity = CliniSync.

Who participates in CliniSync?

As of 2017, 150 hospitals in Ohio are contracted with CliniSync and 139 are “live,” meaning they are sending results and reports directly to practices. Initially, Ohio focused on primary care physicians and the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), assisting more than 6,000 in the selection and implementation of EHRs with funds provided by the HITECH Act. Today, our outreach includes all physician practices, whether internal medicine, family physicians, specialists, or optometrists. In addition, a tremendous expansion into the long-term and post-acute care community means they can share electronic health records to help patients as they go through transitions of care from one facility to another.  We also are exploring data sharing with health plans. For a full listing of members of the CliniSync Community,go to our Member Resources page on this website.

Why is HIE important?

In Ohio, physicians and hospitals historically have not been able to share electronic patient data with one another to coordinate care for patients who have been treated in disparate healthcare settings, which is particularly problematic when patients have multiple chronic conditions. Instead, health systems and hospitals could only communicate with their own staff, and in a few cases, with other hospitals in their system.

Online access to patient data across multiple care settings over time enables effective coordination that increases quality, efficiency and access of care. Reminders and alerts for patients and healthcare professionals help eliminate gaps and duplication in care. Accessing the right information at the right time from patient records existing in hospitals, physician practices, laboratories, pharmacies, health plans, long-term care, home health and behavioral health facilities – and patients themselves – is instrumental for providers to coordinate care.