For Care Seekers

Now more than ever, care seekers must expect and demand that their care providers work together and leverage all the tools available to them to coordinate and personalize care.

Michigan Health Information Network is Michigan’s nonprofit, digital infrastructure (the pipes necessary) for the legal, private and secure way to share your health records with your health providers and health care team electronically.

WHAT DO YOUR HEALTH RECORDS SHOW?

  • Your health problems
  • Your medicines
  • Your test results
  • Your past care, such as recent provider visits and surgeries
  • Your allergies

HOW DOES MiHIN SUPPORT THE WAYS IN WHICH HOSPITALS and CARE PROVIDERS TAKE CARE OF YOU?

Hospitals and providers that are legally and actively responsible for your care use the real-time information in your health records to make better, more coordinated choices about your care. Having access to this information may help your providers:

  • Prevent life-altering mistakes
  • Access your most up to date records during an emergency
  • Choose only appropriate tests
  • Provide holistic care
  • Avoid prescribing the wrong medicines

YOUR RECORDS ARE PRIVATE and SECURE

Only authorized health care providers/organizations and professionals involved in your treatment, coordination of care, quality improvement and activities related to the management or payment of your health care can access your records. In our legal agreements with your providers, they attest they will not share any information that they are not allowed to share by law.

Medical record information is protected under federal and state privacy laws; access, use, and disclosure of medical records will comply with those laws.

DO I HAVE TO SHARE MY RECORDS?

No. You have control over your health records. You can decide if you want to share your records with your providers.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T PARTICIPATE?

Your providers will not be able to access your health records through MiHIN, even in an emergency.

HOW DO I LET MY HOSPITAL OR PROVIDER KNOW IF I WANT TO PARTICIPATE?

Unless you decide to opt-out, your records will be shared through MiHIN. You can change your mind at any time by completing an opt-out form at your provider location where they are able to verify your identity. Your provider may have a process for opting out at their organization so information never travels to MiHIN. This protects your privacy by going to the source of information.

MiHIN facilitates opt out of health information exchange directly with care seekers in limited situations. We support opt out of our community health record, which is oftentimes referred to as Longitudinal Health Record (LHR) or Virtual Integrated Patient Record (VIPR). To do so, you must complete the standard form. which requires filling out limited pieces of demographic information (so we can appropriately locate your record) and utilizing a notary so we are able to confirm you are who you say you are.

IS THERE A COST TO PARTICIPATE?

No. There is no cost for you to share your health records.

 

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Supporting better care coordination throughout all members of your care community

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Improving safety by reducing medication and medical errors

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Focusing on your best care experience, worry less about transferring your own records

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Protecting against pricey and time- sucking redundacy; your providers should already have the information they need to take their best care of you

What is Health Information Exchange?

To understand what makes up a Health Information Exchange (HIE), a person must first understand what is considered health information.

Health Information is any medical information created or received by a health professional (your doctor or pharmacist, for example) and relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health of a patient. So, if you are to go to your doctor for a checkup, health information would be created or updated based on that meeting.

An HIE is an organization that oversees the collection and secure exchange of health information. This coordination and sharing of information is crucial to the health of a patient. When a health professional doesn’t have the complete picture of a patient, a mistake can occur. It can also keep doctors and hospitals updated on the conditions and changes in a patient’s well-being, it can avoid problems with medications, and it can save patients with more severe medical issues from having to deal with paperwork, where in the past, they had to collect and carry to appointments.

The health information collected by an HIE is exchanged over a network. The Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) is the network for Michigan. 

What are my rights?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule provides you with health information privacy rights. These rights are important for you to know. You can exercise these rights, ask questions about them, and file a complaint if you think your rights are being denied or your health information isn’t being protected.

Your health information rights include:

  • Right to access your health information
  • Right to an accounting of disclosures of your health information
  • Right to correct or amend your health information
How do I know my information is secure?

You can review our Consumer Privacy Policy here.