Health Data Exchanges: Growth And Struggles
The number of health information exchanges (HIEs) in the U.S. in 2011--thanks in large part to HITECH Act grants and other funding--soared to more than 200. Although there was impressive growth and success, sustainability continued to be an issue for many HIEs once initial funding was gone.
Some HIEs consolidated in 2011 and others folded. Among those closing shop was CareSpark, a regional HIE in Tennessee, and the Minnesota Health Information Exchange; the latter merged with the Community Health Information Collaborative.
Late in 2011, seven states, eight electronic health record (EHR) vendors, and three HIE providers agreed to support interoperability standards that also could make health data exchange easier nationally.
The standards are the result of a workgroup originally launched in April by the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC). The other members of the group are HIEs in six other states--California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Oregon.
The group's larger vision is for a set of technical standards to gain support from other states and EHR and HIE product vendors to help in the country's loftier goal of a nationwide health data exchange.
Among the vendors supporting the standards are EHR providers Allscripts, eClinicalWorks, e-MDs, Greenway Medical Technologies, McKesson Physician Practice Solutions, NextGen Healthcare, Sage Healthcare Division, and Siemens Healthcare. Three HIE services vendors also are participating: Axolotl, InterSystems, and Medicity.
Recommended Reading
Medicare Delays HIPAA 5010 Enforcement
Mobile Medical Apps: More Education Needed
Docs Warm Up to EHRs, Patients Want Paper
Accountable Care Organizations Can't Survive Without Health IT
Health Information Exchanges Struggle With Sustainability
6 E-Prescribing Vendors To Watch
7 Health Education Tools For Patients
Most Docs Now E-Prescribe, Surescripts Says
ABCs Of EHRs: New Training Choices For Non-Techies
9 Mobile Health Apps Worth A Closer Look
