Health information exchanges are making progress in supporting providers, particularly in helping them meet Stage 2 meaningful use requirements, according to a survey from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, FierceEMR reports.
Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.
Survey Details, Findings
The 2014 survey included responses from 19 of the 23 HIE organizations surveyed by HIMSS in 2013, providing a year-over-year look at HIE progress for the organizations.
The new survey found that the 19 HIEs in the study made improvements in several areas, including:
Clinical decision support;
Computerized provider order entry;
Patient reminders; and
Summary of care records (Durben Hirsch, FierceEMR, 1/26).
Specifically, the survey found that in 2014:
100% of respondents conducted or reviewed a security risk analysis to ensure data protection, compared with 87% in 2013;
79% of HIEs said they provided secure messaging services, compared with 59% in 2013;
74% said they provided services or gateways to facilitate orders and deliver results, compared with 52% in 2013 (Leventhal, Healthcare Informatics, 1/27);
47% said they provided patient access, compared with 32% in 2013 (FierceEMR, 1/26); and
42% said they provided patient reminders, compared with 22% in 2013 (Healthcare Informatics, 1/27).
Comments
In a blog post about the survey, HIMSS North America Director of Informatics Mari Greenberger and HIMSS HIE Committee Chair Charlie Rogers said that the HIEs have shown improvement in a markedly short amount of time.
“We believe the results from the 2014 follow-up survey provide further evidence that HIEs are demonstrating broad industry momentum,” they wrote, adding, “HIEs are also attempting to deliver increased value — especially surrounding the meaningful use Stage 2 core and menu options”(FierceEMR, 1/26).
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