Health information exchanges have grown immensely in 2015. Many operate statewide or regionally and offer participating providers additional patient data to better monitor and improve outcomes. But does the data reflect that to be much more than wishful thinking?
Here are seven things to know about an AHIMA survey study that delved into the affect of HIEs on patient care quality.
• Two-thirds of responding HIEs agreed community exchanges demonstrate a positive return on investment. The remaining third had no opinion or disagreed.
• One-quarter or fewer respondents reported using various metrics to calculate return on investment.
• The majority agreed HIEs improve care quality, although several said this claim requires further evidence.
• Of respondents, 76 percent do not deliver reports on quality measures and 73 percent said their data were not being used to measure the quality performance of participating providers.
• The authors concluded policy makers and healthcare organization believe HIEs do contribute to improving patient health outcomes and increasing efficiency, however the evidence to back up that belief is thin for now.
• The results reflected that for the time being, the HIE return on investment for quality care remains a secondary priority.
• Given the goals of the HITECH Act, this finding calls into question the efficacy of sustained support for HIEs financially and as a policy lever.