MICHIGAN HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK

Care coordination — the kind facilitated by our use of Salesforce — is the magic that will help reduce that $6.3 billion dollar problem.”

TIM PLETCHER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MHIN
 

Michigan Health Information Network puts the care back into healthcare with Salesforce

Improving healthcare and reducing costs is on everyone’s minds these days. But how? Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN) is building connections between every healthcare provider in the state to help doctors better understand patient needs. The agency uses Salesforce to make it easier for the state’s healthcare professionals to get the information they need when they need it to eliminate inefficiencies and improve care.

“Almost 90 percent of the $7.2 billion in medications dispensed in Michigan each year have unintended consequences — ranging adverse side effects, to symptoms that require re-admission, to nothing at all,” explains Tim Pletcher, Executive Director. “Not only is it inefficient when prescriptions don’t work as intended, but it’s inconvenient and unsafe for patients. Care coordination — the kind facilitated by our use of Salesforce Platform — is the magic that will help reduce that $6.3 billion dollar problem.”

The agency uses Sales Cloud to maintain information on 275,000+ providers and to track and understand the connections between doctors, hospitals, and healthcare facilities, and between all of those providers and patients. “Removing fragmentation is key to transforming healthcare. We need a way to track all of the providers and how they work together.”

A custom tool — built on Salesforce Platform — creates unique identities to track complex relationships among healthcare providers, and stores their electronic delivery addresses so electronic health information can be transmitted securely. The ability to share information throughout a care team will reduce redundant care (such as repeat tests), make it easier to assign and handle referrals, and improve overall care.

“Providers in a patient’s care team need to be notified when the patient receives treatment. The Health Provider Directory built on Salesforce Platform will help providers work better together.” It is essential that any shared data is routed properly, to only the right organizations and the right people within organizations. Controls within Salesforce ensure that privacy is maintained and information sharing meets compliance regulations.
 

Removing fragmentation is key to transforming healthcare. We need a way to track all of the providers and how they work together.”

TIM PLETCHER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MHIN

A prescription for accessing information

As the dynamics of healthcare continue to change, MiHIN is also looking at ways to extend its Salesforce implementation to make it easier for citizens to access their own health information. The agency is also working with its counterparts in other states to share best practices and collaborate on solutions to make it easier for patients to access their own healthcare information. Pletcher explains, “In the future consumers will be able to see their own records electronically — almost as if they could check health info for themselves or their parents and children on Facebook.”

 

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