Health Information Exchanges May Reduce Hospital Admissions, Study Finds

Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City has released the findings of a study that indicates health information exchange allows emergency departmentphysicians to treat patients more efficiently and effectively and could reduce unnecessaryhospital admissions.

 Using claims information collected from seven EDs in Rochester, N.Y., the researchers found that physicians and healthcare professionals who had access to patient data from other providers through the region's health information organization were better able to avoid hospitalizing patients who didn't need inpatient care.

The study illustrates the value of combining multiple providers' digital patient charts into a single source, particularly in urgent care settings. With information such as previous test results, prescriptions and other patient history immediately accessible, physicians are able to better treat patients, according to a Weill Cornell Medical College news release.

"Our study shows that providing physicians, nurses and allied healthcare professionals such as physicians assistants real-time access to communitywide, longitudinal health records does in fact benefit patients," said Joshua Vest, MD, an assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College and lead author of the study, in a news release.

"The possibility for healthcare information exchange efforts to improve the quality of healthcare for New Yorkers and across the country is substantial," said Rainu KaushalMD, chair of the Department of Healthcare Policy and Research at Weill Cornell Medical College, in a news release.

More Articles on Health Information Exchange:

Illinois HIE Brings Long-Term Care Facilities Into Network
North Texas Medical Center to Build HIE as Foundation for an ACO 
3 Interoperability Challenges Faced by Hospitals

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