Health Information Exchange

Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that hospitals are making headway in reducing healthcare-associated infections, a new study finds that for those on the front lines, their organizations' technology doesn't support them in their jobs. In fact, according to researchers, hospital-based infection preventionists often unaware of whether their organization was involved in an HIE.

Coming to grips with electronic health record incompatibility and determining which patient data represents the most value to providers are among several best practices a recently convened panel of health IT experts said could improve health information exchange efforts.

Five recently released reports sponsored by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT aim to increase understanding of health information exchange for policymakers and researchers involved in the implementation of related efforts, according to John Rancourt, a program analyst with ONC, posting on the  Health IT Buzz  blog.

In testimony to be presented at a meeting of the Health IT Policy and HIT Standards Committees this week in Washington, D.C., several providers and other health IT stakeholders discuss opportunities, as well as barriers, to the implementation of health information exchange.

Health information exchange stakeholders concerned about a lack of technical standards, distrust among providers and security of patient information, want more federal guidance for HIE governance, according to participants in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's recent HIE Governance town hall.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT wants to conduct a national survey on health information exchange capabilities of clinical laboratories, according to a proposed information collection request submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval that recently was posted in the  Federal Register .