How Early Adopting Hospital Systems View the Business Case for Health Information Exchange
Global Assessment of the Value of Health Information Technology and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Programs
Prepared for:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Key Findings:
- Systems tended to make external exchange decisions locally, even if a system spanned a wide geography.
- Exchange generally favored providers involved in the care of a system’s patients and gave preference to providers sharing the same EHRs.
- The kinds of information shared externally were much more limited than those exchanged internally and were generally based around private exchange models.
- Systems generally viewed public exchange as a supplement to their own efforts.
Although the study was small, its findings are consistent with prior research on the means and barriers to electronic health exchange. The study also documents the growing sense—at least among some large provider systems—that electronic information exchange is perceived as a valued asset. In light of both historical and more recent experience, policymakers may want to review their broad expectations for external information exchange to consider more realistic goals that take into account the “use cases” or targeted priority areas most valued by diverse stakeholders.
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