eHealth Initiative: HIEs nearing meaningful use

Health information exchanges (HIEs) are nearing meaningful use in terms of their business strategy, said Trudi Matthews, director of policy and public relations at HealthBridge, during a recent webinar discussion on the release of the eHealth Initiative's annual HIE survey. The webinar, hosted by the Washington, D.C.-based eHealth Initiative, disseminated data from the organization's seventh annual survey on HIE.

The eHealth Initiative concluded that there are 234 active HIE initiatives in the country where 199 groups responded to and qualified for inclusion of the 2010 survey.

One of the major findings was that there are at least 73 operational initiatives currently transmitting data that is being used by stakeholders; a figure up from 57 in 2009, noted Genevieve Morris, manager of HIE research and programs at eHealth Initiative.

Another key finding is that the report found that sustainability is an attainable goal for HIE organizations as 107 reporting initiatives are not dependent on federal funding and 18 operational HIEs of those have broken even through operational revenue alone. Most revenue was found to be gathered through subscription fees or membership dues to data providers, according to Morris.

The report also found that most organizations are reporting a reduction in staff time and redundant testing through the use of HIE. Thirty three organizations reported having reduced staff time spent on clerical administration and filing while 28 reported decreased costs spent on redundant tests.

There have been increases in functionality among HIE initiatives with respect to the meaningful use rules. According to the report, the top three functions being provided by the initiatives included:

• Connectivity to EHRs (67);
• Results delivery (50); and
• Health summaries for continuity of care (49)

The top five types of data exchanged by the initiatives were:

• Laboratory results (68);
• Medication data (63);
• Outpatient laboratory results (62);
• Allergy information (61); and
• Emergency department episodes/discharge summaries (58)

Patient engagement has increased dramatically since the previous survey, according to Morris, as more organizations are providing services to patients and providing access to patient data through HIE. Forty-four initiatives allow patients to view their data, up from three in 2009, while 31 initiatives allow patients to contribute information on their health status, up from seven in 2009.

The report can be downloaded from eHealth Initiative’s website, which also includes an interactive HIE U.S. map detailing HIEs nationwide.