HIMSS unveils Continuity of Care Maturity Model

Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics officially introduced its Continuity of Care Maturity Model at its annual conference in Orlando. The global model evaluates technology implementation and usage, data collection and analytics and patient empowerment in optimizing clinical and financial outcomes.

The model builds on the HIMSS Analytics EMR Adoption Model to support a dynamic interconnected, community-wide record supporting coordinated patient care, patient engagement and advanced analytics, according to a presentation by John Hoyt, HIMSS Analytics executive vice president.

The model incorporates several stages, which each entail a set of required capabilities. These stages are:

Stage 0: Limited to no e-communication

Stage 1: Basic peer-to-peer data exchange

Stage 2: Patient-centered clinical data using basic system-to-system exchange

Stage 3: Normalized patient record using structural interoperability

Stage 4: Care coordination based on actionable data using a semantic interoperatble patient record

Stage 5: Community-wide patient record using applied information with a patient engagement focus

Stage 6: Closed loop care coordination across care team members

Stage 7: Knowledge-driven engagement for a dynamic, multi-vendor and multi-organizational interconnected healthcare delivery model

Hoyt said that next steps for this model include finalization, which will be based on an upcoming pilot. Once finalized, the model will be used for benchmarking purposes.