IBM today announced that UNC Health Care has launched a new health information exchange (HIE) to improve the flow of reliable health information among their affiliated hospitals and physician practices throughout North Carolina. As a result, health care providers will be able to quickly access electronic medical records, lab results and radiology reports while medical information follows patients throughout the hospital system and outlying clinics.
The new UNC Health Care health information exchange is expected to be among the most advanced in the nation, creating a model for the rest of North Carolina as well as other states. States, regions, hospitals and physician practices throughout the US are working to meet federal requirements to adopt electronic medical records and connect stakeholders through HIEs to begin creating the infrastructure, incentives, and measures to interchange data effectively.

IBM's technology and services for HIE and patient identification already touch 80 percent of the population of North America and are relied on by more than 100 large healthcare systems, more than 40 health information exchanges and the nation's largest retail pharmacies.