Dive Brief:
- A new report from NORC at the University of Chicago finds that health information exchange (HIE) adoption has seen "considerable growth" that is driven only by a few states.
- Directed transactions increased three-fold and patient record queries increased more than fourfold between 2011 and 2013, according to the report.
- High participation varied by state - in Q2 of 2012, Indiana, Colorado and New York accounted for 85% of transactions, but in Q3 of 2013, Michigan, Colorado, Indiana, New York and Vermont accounted for more than 85% of the total.
Dive Insight:
Other key report findings include:
- HITECH funding created and expanded HIE-related infrastructure
- The gap between hospital-hospital and hospital-to-ambulatory care provider exchange narrowed
- There was an increase from 44 % to 72% in the number of physicians using EHRs to e-prescribe between 2011 and 2014.
Also, care summary exchanges from a hospital to an outside hospital rose from 22% in 2011 to 60% in 2014 and the HIE activity level in 2014 ranged from 51% in Nevada to 97% in Minnesota.
Challenges in HIE adoption range from barriers in relationships between EHRs and HIE vendors, sustainability, and a need for time and money, the report states.
The authors concluded that although not all challenges have been resolved, there is more HIE capacity and "a path forward toward greater data liquidity for both exchange and interoperability."
A previous NORC report in June found that providers' HIE needs were focused on a desire for more information at the point of care to improve healthcare delivery.