AHA: 6 in 10 hospitals exchange data to outside providers

More than six in 10 hospitals electronically exchange health information with outside providers, according to the American Hospital Association’s annual health IT survey, which was published online by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). This represents a 51 percent increase since 2008.

The most commonly exchanged data include laboratory results (57 percent); radiology reports (55 percent); clinical care summaries (42 percent) and medication history (37 percent).

State ranges of HIE with outside providers ranged from 38 percent to 100 percent. Rhode Island (100 percent), Delaware (100 percent) and Connecticut (95 percent) had the highest percent of hospitals that exchanged health information with outside providers. On the other end of the spectrum was Oklahoma (38 percent), Montana (41 percent) and Mississippi (42 percent).

“ONC continues to encourage the exchange of health information and interoperability through the advancement of electronic notification services that can help create continuity of care and reduce hospital readmissions. We continue to focus on strengthening common trust frameworks that support exchange, and to develop and define technical standards that advance interoperability,” wrote ONC Program Analyst Matthew Swain and ONC Interoperability and Exchange Portfolio Manager Erica Galvez in a related blog post.

Read the report here.