For the study, the researchers analyzed two years of Hospital Compare data on 30-day patient mortality and readmissions for heart failure and pneumonia alongside data from the American Hospital Association’s annual IT survey detailing the same period. The researchers’ goal was to evaluate the association between sharing EHR diagnostic data and overall patient outcomes.
The researchers determined hospitals that shared radiology report data with other facilities within their system indicated significantly lower mortality scores for pneumonia. However, hospitals that shared radiology report data with facilities outside of their system indicated significantly higher heart failure mortality scores.
To address this discrepancy, the researchers suggested hospital leaders consider interoperability between EHR systems. “Improving communication between hospitals using different EHR systems may be more crucial than simply expanding data sharing,” the study authors noted.
More articles on EHRs & interoperability:
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