Chatham County Jail Health Information Exchange

Chatham County Jail Health Information Exchange provides responsible health information exchange for the region. Although the program does not provide clinical care, the utilization of a Health Information Exchange (HIE) allows providers to better address the medical needs of a patient, regardless of their location. Through a HIE, Electronic Medical Records (EMR) data from the participating 27 organizations in the program can be aggregated and medical professionals can query a patient's information through the HIE in order to see the patient's diagnosis, medication, lab results, and have access to other medical information that is available at that point. Since there is a large incarcerated population in the community, the program negotiated to obtain licenses for a jail EMR. The program paid $300,000 and saved the county $2 million.

To have an EMR system that allows medical professionals to correctly diagnose and address the medical needs of incarcerated patients in the emergency room or in the prison system.

The program has allowed for greater accessibility and sharing of medical data.