The theme for this week appears to be improvement and various ways in which health IT can do better.

Satisfaction with health information exchange vendors is lagging as they struggle to produce the level of interoperability that providers want, according to a November report from KLAS.

Hospitals and hospital systems are making significant investments in health information exchange technologies, according to the results of the second annual survey on the topic conducted by CapSite, a research and advisory firm recently acquired by the Health Information Management and Systems Society.

A number of health information exchange (HIE) interoperability and interface features that should be in place today are not, according to the University of California Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement (IPHI). The IPHI’s California Health eQuality program released a buyer’s guide to help providers determine the current capabilities of vendors’ products.

Health insurance provider Humana has acquired Certify Data Systems, a health information exchange (HIE) technology developer. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Six state health information exchanges (HIEs) will receive Direct messaging capabilities from ICA, which develops HIE interoperability technology.

Ohio's health information exchange—CliniSync—has added yet another facility to the list of those connected in the state. Southern Ohio Medical Center is the 57th hospital in Ohio to join CliniSync and is now electronically transmitting health information and data.

All signs indicate that health information exchange is chugging along, according to the most recent announcements of creation, expansion and new efforts to maximize their benefits.