EXCHANGE Onboarding Frequently Asked Questions

What does a healthcare organization need to start the on-boarding process?: The applicant node needs to have an operational EHR system that can produce a CCD or a C-CDA and is capable of meeting the eHealth Exchange specifications. An organization will also need the appropriate technical resources to staff the onboarding process, as well as a contact for privacy and security issues, and sufficient legal counsel to review and complete the EXCHANGE Trust Agreement.

I’m a small provider practice, I don’t have an EHR and I’m not affiliated with a major hospital system. Can I still onboard to EXCHANGE?: Currently, the ability to generate a CCD while meeting the technical, legal and financial obligations for onboarding is a requirement for participating in EXCHANGE.

What if I am not a traditional healthcare organization that treats patients, but I still want to join EXCHANGE? My healthcare organization meets the permitted purposes requirements in ConnectVirginia’s Policies and Procedures, but does not have an EHR or provide patient care. Can we still onboard?: ConnectVirginia anticipates that other different types of healthcare organizations, such as payors, pharmacies or labs will eventually become nodes on EXCHANGE. Please contact us at support@connectvirginia.org to discuss potential use cases and technical/legal requirements.

What is the timeline for the on-boarding process?: The actual time it takes the provider to technically prepare for connectivity is highly variable and depends on many factors such as whether there is already support for IHE profiles within the healthcare organization’s EHR; whether it requires an upgrade; whether there is just one system or multiple that have to be integrated before connecting etc. The time taken to execute legal agreements and other policy requirements will vary depending on the organization. ConnectVirginia currently allows a three month time period for onboarding.

Who is responsible for hardware and software necessary to connect to EXCHANGE?: Each applicant node will be responsible for procuring all hardware, software, and equipment necessary for it to access EXCHANGE, use its services, and provide information to EXCHANGE.

Will ConnectVirginia EXCHANGE connect to providers outside Virginia?: Yes, ConnectVirginia is a participant of eHealth Exchange and will facilitate the eHealth Exchange onboarding for its nodes. eHealth Exchange is a nationwide health information network consisting of federal partners and non-federal organizations that can exchange patient health information using a standardized set of specifications.

Can patients access ConnectVirginia EXCHANGE?: At this time, there are no plans for patients to be able to access their own health information via EXCHANGE, though nodes are encouraged to provide patients access to their own health data via PHR products.

Will physicians be required to log into another system/separate application?: It depends on the system that is onboarding to EXCHANGE and what it plans to do with the information it receives from the exchange. In general, it is expected that the connecting system will seamlessly integrate the additional patient information obtained from the exchange into a report viewer or other clinical data viewers already available as part of their existing portfolio. Please discuss with your EHR vendor what this workflow and integration will look like in the application.

What is a CCD?: A CCD is a summary of one patient’s clinical information in electronic form. A CCD gives clinicians a standard way to share a comprehensive yet concise representation of a patient’s medical history and current condition.The patient summary contains a core data set of the most relevant administrative, demographic, and clinical information facts about a patient’s health care, covering one or more healthcare encounters. It provides a means for one health care practitioner, system, or setting to aggregate all of the pertinent data about a patient and forward it to another practitioner, system, or setting to support the continuity of care. Its primary use case is to provide a snapshot in time containing the pertinent clinical, demographic, and administrative data for a specific patient. Typical uses are referrals, transfers, and emergency room visits. Electronic systems that recognize the CCD format can display critical clinical information from other organizations. It is the most common way to share patient information in most health information exchanges.

My health care organization does not have the in-house technical and/ or legal resources to onboard. Does ConnectVirginia provide consulting services?: Please contact ConnectVirginia at support@connectvirginia.org to discuss onboarding requirements and resources.