Meaningful use stage 2 and meaningful use stage 3 contain measures that stipulate the exchange of electronic health records (EHRs). For many providers participating in the incentive program, the question is: which HIE is the best?
Some hospital have been addressing their HIE needs by creating and sharing electronic health information with other participating hospitals and physicians, exhibiting the notion that HIE is not that complicated at a basic level. What’s more, this enables those hospitals to offer community physicians the ability to share and access population health information and improve care.
For some of the states whose HIEs are still in the infancy stages, hospital-based HIE can be advantageous and allow most to immediately meet some of the meaningful measures without relying on state funded initiatives – which some say aren’t necessary at all.
There are also additional changes in the market that may create a faster path to true interoperability and native support for data exchange, such as a recently announced collaboration among some of the biggest names in hospital-based EHR, CommonWell Health Alliance will be a joined venture started by the likes of Cerner, AllScripts, McKesson and few others.
Fortunately, some states have been able to take advantage of the federal grants made available to help fund the development of a state HIE. To get more details on the status of the state HIEs, the ONC offers a website that provides frequent updates on the currently recognized state HIEs, as well as milestones in e-prescribing, directed exchange, and query-based exchange.
Whether it is independent physicians or hospital systems looking to participate in an HIE, participating in an HIE will clearly require careful selection and evaluation, as well as a solid foundation for HIE implementation. Not only about pricing models that are available, but also connectivity to other HIEs and groups.