Room for improvement
Efforts to improve interoperability and work toward the seamless exchange of information may not be advancing as much as expected and hoped.
The vast majority of hospitals still don’t engage in health information exchanges (HIE), according to a study in the journal Healthcare, the Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation.
Using the most recent data from the IT supplement to the annual American Hospital Association annual survey (administered at the end of 2012), the authors found that only 30 percent of U.S. hospitals were engaged in HIE with unaffiliated providers at that time.
The most recent study also found a substantial variation in hospital HIE participation across the states, ranging from a significant level of participation in states like Vermont (88 percent), Delaware (75 percent) and Rhode Island (71 percent), to minimal participation in states like Alaska, North Dakota, New Hampshire and Wyoming.
The researchers cited competing health IT priorities as a significant hurdle for HIE and said better interoperability of EHRs is required before providers are willing to put their money into information exchange.
Is your hospital participating in information exchange or is the investment not a priority at this time? Please share your experience.
Beth Walsh
Clinical Innovation + Technology editor
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.