Skip to content
Search to learn about InterSystems products and solutions, career opportunities, and more.

Running a Successful HIE Without Relying on Government Financing

East Tennessee Health Information Network

doctor and nurse looking at computer
 

CUSTOMER: East Tennessee Health Information Network

CHALLENGE: Efficiently connect hundreds of sites and participants across the state

SOLUTION: InterSystems connected health solutions: InterSystems EMPI, InterSystems HealthShare Unified Care Record InterSystems Clinical Viewer

OUTCOME: Easy and secure access to 1.5 billion clinical records improves care delivery and patient outcomes

East Tennessee Health Information Network (etHIN), one of the longest operating health information exchanges (HIEs) in the United States, uses InterSystems solutions to power its self-sustaining network. The solutions help etHIN overcome data integration and interoperability challenges, accelerate time-to-market, and ensure high performance, scalability, and availability for a host of advanced data aggregation, delivery, and reporting services. etHIN helps healthcare organizations improve continuity of care and patient outcomes by providing fast, reliable, and secure access to over 1.5 billion clinical records.

The Challenge: Thriving Without Government Subsidies

etHIN was established in 2005 to support the data exchange needs of the East Tennessee healthcare community and launched full data exchange capability in 2012. Today, the non-profit organization connects over 500 locations across Tennessee, serving more than 120 participants ranging from hospital systems and healthcare plans to EMS agencies, coroners, and rural pharmacies.

etHIN map
etHIN connects 500+ sites in the greater Knoxville area and across the state

In Tennessee, state financing for HIE initiatives has been limited. Most of the regional exchanges that relied on government funding were unable to survive long-term. etHIN took a vastly different path. From the outset, the exchange was conceived to be financially self-sustaining with minimal public funding, which is no small feat. To succeed, etHIN needed a technology platform that could minimize healthcare data integration cost and complexity, scale flexibly, and support a range of use cases.

The Solution: InterSystems Accelerates Data Services Delivery

etHIN switched to InterSystems technology in 2018 to bolster its foundational data exchange services. Today, the HIE leverages a variety of InterSystems solutions including InterSystems IRIS for Health™, InterSystems Unified Care Record and HealthShare Clinical Viewer, and InterSystems EMPI, to connect diverse systems, unify fragmented data, resolve duplicate and inconsistent identity records, and provide a uniform, uniquely identified community-wide record for each individual. The InterSystems solutions help etHIN streamline the introduction of new services, simplify participant onboarding, and optimize system performance, scalability, and economics.

Pam Matthews
CEO and Executive Director of etHIN

“InterSystems gives us the flexibility to grow, adapt, and deliver real value—which is critical for any HIE, especially with etHIN being financially self-sustaining,” explains Pam Matthews, CEO and Executive Director of etHIN. “If you’re willing to invest in the technology and supporting resources, you’ll get a lot out of it. For example, by leveraging InterSystems Unified Care Record and Clinical Viewer we were able to integrate SDOH data directly into a patient’s medical record.”

InterSystems solutions enable an array of high-value data services including:

  • Unified clinical viewer – provides a consolidated, easy-to-understand view of patient data spanning multiple providers and facilities, with diagnostic-quality radiology imaging
  • Customizable ADT alerts – delivers real-time notifications of hospital admission, discharge, and transfer events
  • Advanced analytics – surfaces insights into historical patterns and trends, helping healthcare organizations improve clinical, operational, and financial performance
  • Public health reporting – enables seamless data sharing with the Tennessee Department of Health to support immunization tracking, disease surveillance, and other initiatives

The Results: Sustainable Growth, Indispensable Services

etHIN has grown by leaps and bounds over the years without heavily depending on direct public funding for financial sustainability. Today, the HIE includes patients from every county in Tennessee, all 50 states, and international visitors thanks in part to the region’s booming tourism industry. The network now delivers over 15 million ADT alerts and over 1.1 million HIPAA-compliant clinical messages annually leveraging its 1.5 billion available records.

“Our services have become indispensable to our participants,” says Matthews. “In one case, a major provider experienced a week-long system outage and relied entirely on etHIN’s Clinical Viewer to maintain continuity of care, without missing a beat.”

Building on its success, etHIN is preparing for the next phase of growth and innovation. Future plans include enhancing analytics capabilities, further expanding the participant network across Tennessee, as well as deepening the existing partnerships such as with public health agencies. With InterSystems as its technology backbone, etHIN is well-positioned to continue advancing its services while staying true to its community-first mission.

More Customer Success Stories

Jul 26, 2025
Medtronic
Medtronic uses InterSystems Health Connect™ to seamlessly connect its PillCam management application with disparate EHR, PACS, and RIS systems. The InterSystems solution makes it easy for Medtronic customers to exchange patient information and endoscopy images across dissimilar systems.
Jun 04, 2025
Large Healthcare Organization
One of the largest healthcare organizations (HCOs) in the southeastern United States replaced its legacy on-premises data integration engine with InterSystems Health Connect to improve economics, reliability, and business agility. InterSystems fully managed solution reduces operations expense and complexity, while ensuring high performance, availability, and scalability for mission critical data transactions.
Jul 26, 2024
Trust (formerly Harmony Health)
Trust uses InterSystems technology to connect more people in underserved communities with the healthcare and social services.
May 03, 2024
Seamlessly sharing disparate healthcare data
InterSystems IRIS for Health helps MedAllies provide fast, reliable, and secure data exchanges for millions of healthcare professionals across the country. The cloud-native solution helps the QHIN-designated healthcare information network operator accelerate the pace of innovation, avoid upfront capital equipment outlays, and tightly align ongoing expenses with evolving business demands.
Feb 03, 2024
UK NHS
Integrate disparate hospital trusts to achieve a comprehensive electronic health record using InterSystems HealthShare® Health Connect Cloud™
Sep 01, 2023
Healthcare Providers
Surprisingly, the top three indicators of life expectancy in the U.S. for a given population are per capita nursing home residency, mental health challenges, and prevalence of tooth loss¹. The income level, access to care, stress, and other social factors behind these indicators have a greater impact on health than genetics or access to healthcare services². However, historically, social determinants of health have not received enough attention in clinical care.
Jul 14, 2023
Integration Across the Delivery Network (IDN)
The developers at this large U.S. integrated delivery network (IDN) have no patience for integration engines that mindlessly do one job and one job only. Since replacing an old engine with InterSystems integration technology over a decade ago, the IDN has seen InterSystems solutions solve multiple problems to power growth, save employee time, and reduce costs. In one project alone, InterSystems saved them $100,000. Other examples of benefits delivered using InterSystems integration technology include:
May 03, 2023
Healthfirst
In the greater New York City area, Healthfirst, a not-for-profit, hospital-sponsored health plan and pioneer in value-based care, recognized the need for collaborative data exchange with providers for quality and improved member outcomes.
Dec 21, 2022
ROI and a Healthier Population
The Rhodes Group HCV algorithm and communications using InterSystems HealthShare helps New Mexico managed care organizations avoid millions of dollars in penalties for missing HCV treatment targets
Nov 05, 2022
Inpatient-level of Care at Home
A private hospital group in the Middle East is bringing the hospital to patients at home. The care team uses in-home devices to monitor patients and a phone app to deliver device and patient-generated data to its EMR. The physicians and nurses making virtual house calls have all the information they need, using familiar software, for optimal, personalized care.

Take The Next Step

We’d love to talk. Fill in some details and we’ll be in touch.
*Required Fields
Highlighted fields are required
*Required Fields
Highlighted fields are required
** By selecting yes, you give consent to be contacted for news, updates and other marketing purposes related to existing and future InterSystems products and events. In addition, you consent to your business contact information being entered into our CRM solution that is hosted in the United States, but maintained consistent with applicable data protection laws.