The Network — Arizona's Statewide Health Information Exchange
"The Network" is the connective tissue that moves clinical data between Arizona's hospitals, clinics, laboratories and pharmacies. We explain, in plain language, what a statewide health information exchange is and why a neutral one matters for continuity of care.
Moving the right record to the right clinician at the right time
A health information exchange (HIE) is the shared infrastructure that lets unaffiliated providers locate, request and share a patient's clinical information electronically. The Office of the National Coordinator describes two complementary modes: directed exchange, where one provider pushes information — a referral, a discharge summary, a lab result — straight to another, and query-based exchange, where a clinician searches for and retrieves records a patient's other providers have made available, which is essential for unplanned and emergency care.
A statewide, vendor-neutral exchange means a patient's record can follow them across organizational boundaries without depending on any single EHR vendor or hospital system.
Inside The Network
Four explainers that together describe how Arizona's statewide exchange functions — from the architecture, to the message flows, to the consent rules, to the participants who plug in.
The Statewide HIE, Explained
What a statewide exchange is, who participates, query-based versus directed exchange, and the role of the master patient index (MPI).
Read moreHow Patient Records Move
The mechanics of exchange: HL7 v2 ADT and ORU messages, C-CDA documents, FHIR APIs, identity matching, and what a clinician sees at the point of care.
Read moreConsent & Data-Sharing Models
Opt-in versus opt-out, granular consent, sensitive-data handling under 42 CFR Part 2, and how consent is enforced technically.
Read moreConnecting Labs, Pharmacies & Clinics
How laboratories (ELR/results), pharmacies (eRx and medication history) and clinics interface with the exchange, and the operational payoff.
Read moreWhy a neutral statewide exchange matters
Continuity of care, without vendor lock-in
When a patient presents at a hospital that does not hold their history, an exchange lets the care team retrieve prior diagnoses, medications, allergies and recent results rather than starting blind. That reduces duplicate testing, supports safer medication reconciliation, and shortens the path to an informed decision.
AzHeC carries the legacy of Arizona Health-e Connection, which operated the state's HIE. Our posture is unchanged: every position begins from the published standard — HL7 v2, C-CDA and FHIR for clinical content; an MPI for identity — and never from a single platform's interests.
Questions about statewide exchange?
We are a neutral convener, not a vendor. If you work in an Arizona hospital, clinic, lab, pharmacy, payer or state agency and want to understand how exchange works, reach out.