Despite high HIE adoption rates, many healthcare organizations still find robust, meaningful engagement as well as integrating paper-based strategies a challenge.
Today, HIMSS Analytics released a new report on the barriers, challenges, and opportunities of healthcare information exchange (HIE). Sponsored by ASG, the report, “Barriers, Challenges and Opportunities with Information Sharing in HIEs: Output/Print Environments” indicated that there are two major challenges in the collection and sharing of patient information despite high levels of HIE participation:
- Healthcare facilities that are participating in some form of health information exchange organization (HIO) reported difficulties in exchanging patient information in robust, meaningful ways.
- Additionally, respondents indicated sharing information outside of HIOs is constrained by budget limitations and staffing resources.
Challenges Sharing Data with HIOs
When asked to indicate the greatest challenges they faced with respect to sharing data with HIOs:
- 49 percent indicated other providers are not sharing data robustly
- 44 percent are constrained by staffing resources
- 40 reported financial constraints
- 39 percent were concerned about privacy/security of shared electronic data
- 23 percent are constrained by technological offerings in the market
- 15 percent felt HIE organizations in their area make it difficult to share information
- 6 percent felt it was not a high priority on their organization’s strategic plan to share with other HIOs
Tools/Solutions Used to Exchange Data
Respondents participating in an HIO were asked to identify the types of tools/solutions that were used to share information within the HIO. Many respondents indicated that they shared information through:
- Patient Portal – 44 percent
- DIRECT/Directed Exchange – 41 percent
- Organization–specific exchange requirements – 34 percent
- Query-Based Exchange – 32 percent
- Other – 9 percent
Other key findings include:
- 16 percent indicated they were receiving no benefit data exchange initiatives
- 57 percent participated in state HIOs
- 32 percent participated in local/regional HIOs
- 66 percent used fax as their primary means of sharing data with other healthcare organizations that are not part of HIOs
Background
HIMSS Analytics conducted a web-based survey of senior information technology (IT) executives from randomly-selected U.S. hospitals. Executives were e-mailed invitations to participate in this study and data collection occurred in May and June, 2013.
To be eligible to complete the survey, respondents were required to play some role in the organization’s IT purchasing decisions. Respondents indicating they played no role in making these purchases were excluded from the study. A total of 158 individuals responded to the e-mail invitation and completed all of the survey questions.
To download the free copy of the report, visit: http://www.himssanalytics.org/
