What's New
Request for Proposals: ELINCS Orders Pilot Implementation
The California HealthCare Foundation has allocated up to $300,000 to implement and test electronic exchange of lab orders using the new ELINCS Orders specification. Proposals were due January 20 and pilot projects will begin in February 2012. Get the RFP at www.chcf.org.
Implementation Resource Bundle Available for ELINCS Lab Results
To assist laboratories, vendors, and providers with the implementation of ELINCS-compliant lab interfaces, the California HealthCare Foundation in collaboration with Sujansky & Associates created the ELINCS Lab Interface Implementation Resource Bundle. Get the Resource Bundle.
Quest Diagnostics Implements ELINCS Lab Results on National Data Exchange Hub
Quest Diagnostics has completed development of their ELINCS interface for its national data exchange hub and is now accepting requests for new lab interface implementations from physicians across the United States. Send an inquiry for details on how to request laboratory results from Quest in ELINCS HL7-R1 format for your EHR.
What Is ELINCS?
ELINCS is the EHR-Lab Interoperability and Connectivity Specification. It standardizes the formatting and coding of electronic messages exchanged between clinical laboratories and ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) systems. ELINCS is an example of a clinical data standard -- an agreed upon set of rules that allow information to be shared and processed uniformly, thereby providing a common language for patient care. Adopting these standards helps health care providers deliver the right care by making information available at the right time. For more information, see the About ELINCS page.
Key Benefits of ELINCS
- Improved practice efficiency. Eliminates the need for physicians or office staff to send paper lab orders, manually enter lab data, scan paper lab reports, or track down missing results.
- Easier implementation of EHRs. Dramatically reduces the time and cost required to build electronic interfaces between lab information systems and EHRs.
- Improved quality of care. Allows clinicians to compare results over time, graph trends, identify patients requiring interventions, and prevent unsafe or unnecessary treatment.
- More efficient reporting between labs and multiple EHR systems. Enables reporting to all physician practices in a community instead of just a few.
- Faster delivery of test orders and results in a reliable and cost-effective method. Helps prevent errors and reduces costs.
- Achieve 'meaningful use.' Enables physicians to more easily incorporate structured lab data into their EHRs.
Sponsors of ELINCS
In collaboration with health care providers, software vendors, commercial laboratories, health information organizations, government agencies, professional associations, and nonprofit organizations, the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) sponsored the development, testing, and enhancements of ELINCS. For more information, visit www.chcf.org.
ELINCS has been adopted by Health Level 7 (HL7), the internationally recognized standards development organization for health information. HL7 has assumed responsibility for the ongoing maintenance and further development of ELINCS. For more information, visit www.HL7.org.