Dive Brief:
- Michigan Health Connect and the Great Lakes Health Information Exchange have merged to create the Great Lakes Health Connect: one of the nation's largest health information exchanges (HIEs). The exchange will allow hospitals, physicians and other medical professionals to share the electronic health records of more than 5 million people. The merger was finalized July 1.
- The HIEs realized their missions were essentially the same, and recognized they could better achieve their vision for a healthier Michigan together rather than independently, an official said.
- The newly merged organization will cover more than 80% of hospital beds in Michigan and include 20,000-plus providers serving more than half of the state's 10 million population.
Dive Insight:
HIEs have struggled for long-term financial viability. Modern Healthcare noted that the Michigan HIE merger is occurring as $548 million in federal grants to establish state- and territory-based HIEs under HITECH Act is running out.
A year ago, a survey of HIEs published in Health Affairs found that that barely 25% reported being able to cover operating costs with revenue from providers. At that time, about 30% of hospitals and 10% of ambulatory practices participated in one of 119 operational HIEs across the U.S.; and 74% of HIEs surveyed reported long-term funding challenges.
A survey released in January by Black Book Rankings found that use of HIEs had grown 69% over the past year; but 72% of users believed that by 2017 only 10 of the more than 220 existing exchanges would be functioning without further assistance. Six in 10 HIEs still were funded by HITECH money. In all, 95% of payers, 83% of hospitals and 70% of physicians reported that most public HIEs were struggling with flawed business models and failing to offer meaningful connectivity. Payers were even more critical: 94% said they didn't see the value proposition in HIEs, and 97% said they were still struggling to exchange health data with them. Fewer than one-third of payers participated in HIEs.
The bottom line, from a March report from the California HealthCare Foundation: HIEs have made good progress but still face significant challenges. Against this backdrop, a bigger HIE in Michigan might make sense. But it remains unclear as to whether bigger is better—or enough.