The Carolina eHealth Alliance exists to provide South Carolina citizens with more effective and efficient delivery of healthcare services through networked systems that share patient-specific information. By testing and studying this data exchange across all phase 1 emergency department access points, the participating hospitals will continue to evaluate the benefits of expansion in patient data as well as in health system facilities and geography.




Patients and Hospitals Benefit
From New Information Exchange

The Carolina eHealth Alliance (CeHA) performed its first live demonstration of a new online patient information system that will soon connect 11 emergency departments around the Lowcountry.

“CeHA members unanimously feel that this new technology is impressive,” said David Dunlap, CEO of Roper St. Francis Healthcare and CeHA’s governance committee chairman. Our original governance committee organizer, Dr. Raymond

Time Critical Data Exchange Expected to Improve Patient Safety and Reduce Costs Region-wide

Greenberg, President of MUSC, focused our guiding principles around improving the quality of healthcare across the region through an enabling technology that links caregivers, though a common system, with key patient data,” continued Mr. Dunlap.“As a by-product, an improved patient experience combined with reduced care delivery costs are anticipated region-wide. And we are incredibly fortunate to have The Duke Endowment as our partner.


CeHA's Vision for the Future

Note: U.S. healthcare is entering a dynamic period as federal stimulus funding, consumer interest in health information management, and related technology all reach unprecedented levels of scrutiny, maturity and growth.
The Carolina eHealth Alliance has been fortunate in gaining key stakeholder approval during its early stages, as well as establishing goals that benefit the local community and also enjoy national recognition in terms of priority and importance in the overall healthcare arena.

Charleston area hospitals link emergency rooms to deliver patient data when time is a critical factor

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 Specifically, the Alliance‘s immediate goal is to provide patients of the South Carolina Lowcountry with a more effective and efficient delivery of healthcare services through networked systems that share patient-specific information. Local Emergency Department data exchange is expected to be a first step in realizing benefits around patient safety, patient satisfaction (through reduced length of stay in ED), improved efficiency (through reduction of duplicate tests) as well as many more short term benefits. As the project begins to enjoy utility, benefits related to overall public health will begin to emerge and move to the forefront, including: information exchange to public health entities, improved regional disaster preparedness, shared learning across hospitals and a greater maturity overall in the effective use of clinical data exchange in South Carolina.