Study: Majority of hospitals do not engage in HIE

Only one-third of hospitals in the U.S. engage in health information exchange (HIE) with unaffiliated providers, according to a study published in the Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation.

The study, conducted by researchers at Harvard University and the University of Michigan, utilized data from the 2010 and 2012 American Hospital Association surveys to measure HIE participation among hospitals and within states. They also analyzed whether hospitals are looking into joining an HIE.

The researchers found significant variation in state-level participation. Some states, like Rhode Island, Delaware and Vermont achieved more than 70 percent participation while others had minimal participation. While several of the states with high participation rates were small (i.e., few hospitals), some large states like New York and Indiana had among the highest rates. However, states with very low rates included both large states like Minnesota and very small states such as Alaska, North Dakota, New Hampshire and Wyoming.

Meanwhile, non-profit hospitals were more likely than for-profit hospitals to engage in HIE, and hospitals with a larger share of the market more often linked to exchanges, according to the study.

“Stronger policies and incentives may be needed to convince organizations to share their data electronically. Pursuing these is critical to ensuring that the highly anticipated quality and efficiency gains from our large national investment in health IT are realized," wrote Julia Adler-Milstein, PhD, lead author and assistant professor within the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health et al.

Read the full study here.