Electronic health information exchanges will do far more than just streamline patient care, increase medical record accuracy and availability and expedite billing. Federal requirements for interoperability and flexible data storage ensure that HIEs will aid disaster recovery efforts when the country grapples with its next adverse event, whatever and wherever that may be.

In interviews for this month’s CMIO cover story, front-line HIE implementers told us stimulus dollars have helped to sweeten the information exchange deal recently, but two calamities—the September 11 attacks in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005—are what got two states talking about information exchange initiatives. For example, Data Link, the HIE developed by the Western North Carolina’s Health Care Network, had its roots in concerns about potential Y2K issues. Then “9/11 happened, and we were watching what went on with the folks in New York City regarding healthcare and tracking clinical data and clinically communicating,” says Dana Gibson, vice president of WNC Data Link Services. “That brought the [WNC] hospitals together to talk about the health information technology side of their collaboration.”

As James McIlwain, MD, a founder of Mississippi Coastal Health Information Exchange, puts it: “With our experience with Hurricane Katrina, when we had such a loss of medical records in our paper system, we thought it would be a great idea to store the data in a central database—at least the clinical summary—so that we could have that available, and we have an extra recovery site.” Data recovery is a big part of solid disaster planning and it’s in the mix for HIE developers as well.

In the scope of the misery caused by 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, it’s a small comfort to know that patient health data are more secure and accessible today because of the lessons learned. Other disasters will strike, and information exchanges—a network of networks—will be critical both for better first response during these events and for better patient care in the aftermath of the disaster.

PS: Want to see something cool? Flip to the back page of the print issue and aim the black square on the ad at your webcam. If you haven’t experienced augmented reality, now is the time. As you’ll see, this two dimensional page comes to life. Give it a try!