PHIX is the “super highway” that connects electronic health information from across the Commonwealth. It will provide health care professionals a safe, secure, and reliable way to access the clinical data they need to provide the most effective patient-centered care.

Using electronic medical technologies will have financial benefits and will reduce our reliance on paper charts. But the most important benefit is that by providing health care professionals with a complete picture of a patient’s medical reports, we allow them to make more informed and better choices in how they deliver care. Having access to a complete patient record will help stop unnecessary duplicative and expensive tests and procedures.

PHIX will be a secure place for this information. Just like paper medical records must be kept private and secure, so must electronic records. Patients consent to having their information as part of the exchange, and only authorized users will be able to access PHIX. Additionally, the system will be monitored and constantly audited to make sure only those authorized to use the system can and do.

PHIX is currently in the early stages of development. Through an Executive Order, Governor Rendell created an Advisory Council for PHIX. This group of stakeholders continues to meet as the Commonwealth works through a careful process to select a vendor to deliver the best system. The Advisory Council is working with the Governor’s Office of Health Care Reform on one overarching goal -- make sure PHIX is a secure and useful health information exchange to add efficiency and improve patient care in Pennsylvania.