Health

Hospitals in Central Illinois become more connected than ever

By WEEK Producer
July 9, 2012 Updated Jul 9, 2012 at 9:55 PM CDT

PEORIA, Ill -- A local organization electronically connects hospitals in Central Illinois to provide better patient care through health records.

Central Illinois Health Information Exchange now includes all OSF hospitals.

That means every hospital in Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, Decatur and Campaign-Urbana can more easily access a patient's health history.

Dr. Gail Amundson says patients and family members have had difficulty in the past when health records were lost in the system.

"This unlocks it, basically with all of the privacy and security that we all want... patient permission. It provides to the doctor taking care of the patient that day a summary of information from all the different places that patient has been," said CEO of Quality Quest for Health of Illinois Dr. Gail Amundson.

Dr. Amundson says the incorporation of all Central Illinois hospitals could even mean no more filling out new paperwork before each doctor visit.

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