Regenstrief Institute awarded grant to study HIE in emergency department

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has awarded the Regenstrief Institute with funding to study whether a health information exchange (HIE) improves patient outcomes in the emergency department (ED).

“Findings from our new study could serve as a report card on potential benefits of HIE and as a template for HIEs as they mature,” said Regenstrief Institute investigator Brian E. Dixon, PhD, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI, the principal investigator of the new study.

The HIE is used most frequently in the ED, but evidence of its ability to improve patient outcomes is lacking. This study will review usage logs from the Indiana Network for Patient Care, one of the largest interorganizational clinical data system, to evaluate HIE frequency of use, how they were used, with which patients it was used and under what conditions it was most useful.

“In today’s world, surrounded by technology and the promise of self-driving cars, it is hard to believe that clinical data is still hard to come by,” said Regenstrief Institute investigator J.T. Finnell, MD, an Indiana University School of Medicine associate professor of emergency medicine. “It is a common struggle to gather and mine the data to make informed decisions regarding patient care. Having access to the entire patient record only makes sense, and it’s aligned with existing patient expectations.”