Health information exchange between hospitals and other providers increased 41% between 2008 and 2012, according to research from the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).
In an article published in Health Affairs (August 2013, Vol. 32:8, pp. 1346-1354), ONC researchers reported that 58% of hospitals actively exchanged health information with providers and hospitals outside of their organization in 2012. The research suggests that electronic health records (EHRs) and health information organizations (HIOs) are complementary tools used to enable health information exchange, according to the ONC team.
Other study findings include the following:
- Hospitals' exchanges with other hospitals outside their organization more than doubled during the study period.
- Hospitals with basic EHR systems and which participated in HIOs had the highest rates of hospital exchange activity in 2012, regardless of the organizational affiliation of the provider exchanging data or the type of clinical information exchanged.
- The proportion of hospitals that adopted at least a basic EHR and participated in an HIO grew more than fivefold from 2008 to 2012.
- Between 2008 and 2012, there were significant increases in the percent of hospitals exchanging radiology reports, laboratory results, clinical care summaries, and medication lists with hospitals and providers outside of their organization.
- 84% of hospitals that adopted an EHR and participated in a regional HIO exchanged information with providers outside their organization.
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