Regional health information networks: the Wisconsin Health Information Network, a case study.

It is projected that by the turn of the century, ninety percent of diagnostic procedures and seventy percent of therapeutic procedures will occur outside a hospital setting [2,3]. Additionally, according to a 1992 study by Arthur D. Little, during any given physician office visit, as much as 30 percent of the required diagnostic data and information required by the physician is unavailable [4]. Driven by ever increasing demands for convenience and accessibility, health care continues to evolve into an environment where the importance of data and its relative availability to the requester are diverging. This paper will present the concept of a regional or community health information network (RHIN or CHIN). Specifically, the Wisconsin Health Information Network (WHIN) will be used as a case study.