The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center launches iReferral Interoperability with Lifeline of Ohio to Streamline CMS-Required Donor Referral Process

iReferral automatically identifies potential donors and streamlines the hospital-to-OPO referral process.

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Lifeline of Ohio, the federally designated Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) serving Central and Southeast Ohio, have launched InVita Healthcare Technology’s iReferral℠ interoperability solution at fifteen (15) Ohio State Wexner Medical Center hospital facilities in June 2023.

With more than 100,000 patients on the nation’s transplant waitlist awaiting a life-saving organ, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations mandate hospitals refer all potential organ and tissue donors to their federally designated OPO. Common healthcare interoperability standards were leveraged to replace the prior manual telephonic referral process of these potential donors with seamless electronic system integration streamlining workflow, improving compliance to federal requirements, and maximizing opportunities for donation and transplantation.

“iReferral streamlines the critical donor referral process,” said Todd Collins, President & CEO of InVita Healthcare Technologies. “We’re excited for The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and Lifeline of Ohio launching iReferral to shift nursing and provider resources back to patient care and maximizing donation opportunities for donors and families to save and heal more lives.”

“We’re very pleased to join with one of our partnering hospitals – The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center – and InVita Healthcare Technologies in this innovative process of streamlining the organ and tissue donation referral process,” said Andrew Mullins, Chief Executive Officer of Lifeline of Ohio. “Through this collaboration, more lives will be saved and healed thanks to the generosity of donors and their families.”

About Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center |   wexnermedical.osu.edu

Part of one of the most comprehensive health sciences campuses in North America, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center includes the College of Medicine and its School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences; the Office of Health Sciences, including the Ohio State Faculty Group Practice; various research centers, programs and institutes; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute; and the Ohio State Health System, which includes University Hospital, East Hospital, Ohio State Harding Hospital, the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital, the Ohio State Brain and Spine Hospital, the Ohio State Primary Care Network, Outpatient Care multispecialty facilities and Ohio State Same-Day Care locations.

In 2022, U.S. News & World Report recognized nine Ohio State Wexner Medical Center specialties in its “Best Hospitals” rankings, based on outcomes, structure, patient experience and expert opinion, for the 30th consecutive year. In addition, the College of Medicine ranked 30th among medical schools in the 2023 edition of “Best Graduate Schools,” according to U.S. News.

About Lifeline of Ohio|  lifelineofohio.org

An independent, non-profit organization, Lifeline of Ohio promotes and coordinates the donation of human organs and tissue for transplantation. Lifeline of Ohio serves 97 hospitals and facilities in 38 counties in Ohio and two in West Virginia and is designated as an organ procurement organization through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

About InVita Healthcare Technologies |  invitahealth.com

InVita provides mission-critical and chain-of-custody software technologies for complex medical, forensic, and community care environments. InVita’s solutions streamline clinical workflows, optimize supply chains, sample tracking, and visibility across donation and transplantation, blood and plasma operations, the tissue and implant lifecycle, and environments spanning DNA and forensics. InVita continues to expand the iReferral℠ and iTransplant℠ platforms supporting nearly 75% of all OPOs in the United States and used by more than 15,000 medical professionals across more than 100 organ, tissue, eye, and birth tissue organizations around the world.