Case Studies/Testimonials

Data Exchange using HL7

Posted by Deerwalk on November 29, 2010

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Client profile

Our client reduces the costs associated with providing health care for employees by establishing on-premise clinics. This is achieved by making it easier for employees to visit their doctor, thereby enabling them to be more proactive about their health. This results in cost benefits for employers by lowering the rate of coverage per employee and also facilitates a healthier, productive workforce.

Business Situation

The client was using an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system that was developed specifically for them by a third party which provided for data entry to be done at the various on-site clinics. The client wanted to send patient data to a third-party that aggregates community medical information. The third party accepts data in the well-accepted HL7 format but he client was unfamiliar with the format and needed Deerwalk's expertise to map the data in their database to HL7 and send the information to the third-party.

Solution

Deerwalk made use of the Mirth Connect engine which is an open source project that facilitates the exchange of HL7 data. Mirth Connect is a REST based service that provides a full stack of services including auditing, monitoring, security and other service points. By leveraging this engine the legacy application required very little change and reducing the rest to the existing system. In addition Deerwalk developed a configurable polling system that ensured timely updates while not causing too much strain on its production system. Deerwalk and the client worked together to quickly resolve any issues with the initial data mapping and delivered a highly quality solution in a short period of time.

Benefits

Using this engine Deerwalk was able to provide integration with the third-party that mapped over 45 fields for Admit, Discharge and Transfer messages, which was 50% more fields than the minimum number recommended. For lab data, Deerwalk mapped 50 fields again significantly more than the minimum recommended. By using Deerwalk to develop this solution the client was able to provide higher quality services to their customers while minimizing the costs and internal effort.

Products and services used

• Mirth Connect
• Microsoft SQL Server

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