RHIOs as the foundation for emergency disaster management response

Abstract

This research explores the regional health information organization (RHIO) framework and models for organization in response to emergencies. The increasing threats from weather-related phenomenon, disease outbreaks, and bioterrorism have focused the national agenda on emergency management and response. The creation of a national health information network is being replicated with state level efforts to create a support structure for emergency management. Efforts by state agencies to create statewide health information infrastructure network can be the foundation for a RHIO model. This article will develop RHIO formation models as well as explore data issues on quality and security. Beyond the focus on stakeholders, RHIOs must establish trust at various levels and provide credible and current information for usage to increase. Stakeholders must be included in RHIO formation. Data must be rich to provide emergency responders with relevant information to coordinate responses. The limited success of RHIOs needs to be reexamined and repositioned as Federal and State initiatives to respond to disasters. RHIOs need to be an integral part of the electronic health record (EHR) rollout to physicians to make them more interoperable and beneficial to regional health planning and response.