The Number Of Health Information Exchange Efforts Is Declining, Leaving The Viability Of Broad Clinical Data Exchange Uncertain

Barriers to Health Information Exchange Among Ambulatory Physicians: Results From a Nationally Representative Sample

PURPOSE

Health information exchange (HIE) improves healthcare quality, but is underutilized by providers. This study used a nationally representative survey of ambulatory physicians to examine barriers to HIE, and identify which barriers have the greatest impact on providers' use of HIE.

METHODS

A pooled sample of 1,292 physicians from the 2018-2019 National Electronic Health Record Survey was used. Univariate statistics described rates and patterns of eight common barriers to HIE. Multivariate logistic regression examined the relationship between each barrier and the use of HIE.

RESULTS

Barriers to HIE were common and diverse. Negative attitudes toward HIE's ability to improve clinical quality significantly decreased HIE use (OR = .44, p < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

To increase adoption of HIE, efforts should focus on addressing providers' negative attitudes toward HIE. These findings can guide targeted implementation strategies to improve HIE adoption.

Perspectives on Challenges and Opportunities for Interoperability: Findings From Key Informant Interviews With Stakeholders in Ohio

BACKGROUND

Interoperability-the exchange and integration of data across the health care system-remains a challenge despite ongoing policy efforts aimed at promoting interoperability.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to identify current challenges and opportunities to advancing interoperability across stakeholders.

METHODS

Primary data were collected through qualitative, semistructured interviews with stakeholders (n=24) in Ohio from July to October 2021. Interviewees were sampled using a stratified purposive sample of key informants from 4 representative groups as follows: acute care and children's hospital leaders, primary care providers, behavioral health providers, and regional health information exchange networks. Interviews focused on key informant perspectives on electronic health record implementation, the alignment of public policy with organizational strategy, interoperability implementation challenges, and opportunities for health information technology. The interviews were transcribed verbatim followed by rigorous qualitative analysis using directed content analysis.

RESULTS

The findings illuminate themes related to challenges and opportunities for interoperability that align with technological (ie, implementation challenges, mismatches in interoperability capabilities across stakeholders, and opportunities to leverage new technology and integrate social determinants of health data), organizational (ie, facilitators of interoperability and strategic alignment of participation in value-based payment programs with interoperability), and environmental (ie, policy) domains.

CONCLUSIONS

Interoperability, although technically feasible for most providers, remains challenging for technological, organizational, and environmental reasons. Our findings suggest that the incorporation of end user considerations into health information technology development, implementation, policy, and standard deployment may support interoperability advancement.

Evaluation of a Health Information Exchange System for Geriatric Health Care in Rural Areas: Development and Technical Acceptance Study

Background

Patients of geriatrics are often treated by several health care providers at the same time. The spatial, informational, and organizational separation of these health care providers can hinder the effective treatment of these patients.

Objective

This study aimed to develop a regional health information exchange (HIE) system to improve HIE in geriatric treatment. This study also evaluated the usability of the regional HIE system and sought to identify barriers to and facilitators of its implementation.

Methods

The development of the regional HIE system followed the community-based participatory research approach. The primary outcomes were the usability of the regional HIE system, expected implementation barriers and facilitators, and the quality of the developmental process. Data were collected and analyzed using a mixed methods approach.

Results

A total of 3 focus regions were identified, 22 geriatric health care providers participated in the development of the regional HIE system, and 11 workshops were conducted between October 2019 and September 2020. In total, 12 participants responded to a questionnaire. The main results were that the regional HIE system should support the exchange of assessments, diagnoses, medication, assistive device supply, and social information. The regional HIE system was expected to be able to improve the quality and continuity of care. In total, 5 adoption facilitators were identified. The main points were adaptability of the regional HIE system to local needs, availability to different patient groups and treatment documents, web-based design, trust among the users, and computer literacy. A total of 13 barriers to adoption were identified. The main expected barriers to implementation were lack of resources, interoperability issues, computer illiteracy, lack of trust, privacy concerns, and ease-of-use issues.

Conclusions

Participating health care professionals shared similar motivations for developing the regional HIE system, including improved quality of care, reduction of unnecessary examinations, and more effective health care provision. An overly complicated registration process for health care professionals and the patients’ free choice of their health care providers hinder the effectiveness of the regional HIE system, resulting in incomplete patient health information. However, the web-based design of the system bridges interoperability problems that exist owing to the different technical and organizational structures of the health care facilities involved. The regional HIE system is better accepted by health care professionals who are already engaged in an interdisciplinary, geriatric-focused network. This might indicate that pre-existing cross-organizational structures and processes are prerequisites for using HIE systems. The participatory design supports the development of technologies that are adaptable to regional needs. Health care providers are interested in participating in the development of an HIE system, but they often lack the required time, knowledge, and resources.

The role of electronic health record developers in hospital patient sharing

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether hospital adoption of a new electronic health record (EHR) developer increases patient sharing with hospitals using the same developer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We extracted data on patients shared with other hospitals for 3076 US nonfederal acute care hospitals from the 2011 to 2016 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Physician Shared Patient Patterns database. We calculated the ratio of patients shared with hospitals outside of the focal hospital's network that use the same EHR developer as the focal hospital, and estimated difference-in-differences models to compare same-developer patient sharing among hospitals that switched to a new developer with those that did not switch developer.

RESULTS

Switching to a new EHR developer increased the ratio of patients shared with other hospitals having the same EHR developer by 4.1-19.3%, depending on model specification. The magnitude of this effect varied by EHR developer and was increasing in developer market share.

DISCUSSION

Consolidation in the EHR industry has led to higher patient sharing among hospitals with the same EHR developer. Contributing factors could include the growth of developer-based health information exchanges, customizable referral management systems, and provider preferences for easy and reliable data exchange. However, hospital transfers that are significantly influenced by EHR developer could lead to poor patient-provider matches.

CONCLUSION

Hospitals' choice of EHR developer impacts the flow of patients across hospitals, which could have both desirable and undesirable effects on patient care. Future research should investigate whether health outcomes decline with greater same-developer patient sharing.

The Health Care Sector's Experience of Blockchain: A Cross-disciplinary Investigation of Its Real Transformative Potential

BACKGROUND

Academic literature highlights blockchain's potential to transform health care, particularly by seamlessly and securely integrating existing data silos while enabling patients to exercise automated, fine-grained control over access to their electronic health records. However, no serious scholarly attempt has been made to assess how these technologies have in fact been applied to real-world health care contexts.

OBJECTIVE

The primary aim of this paper is to assess whether blockchain's theoretical potential to deliver transformative benefits to health care is likely to become a reality by undertaking a critical investigation of the health care sector's actual experience of blockchain technologies to date.

METHODS

This mixed methods study entailed a series of iterative, in-depth, theoretically oriented, desk-based investigations and 2 focus group investigations. It builds on the findings of a companion research study documenting real-world engagement with blockchain technologies in health care. Data were sourced from academic and gray literature from multiple disciplinary perspectives concerned with the configuration, design, and functionality of blockchain technologies. The analysis proceeded in 3 stages. First, it undertook a qualitative investigation of observed patterns of blockchain for health care engagement to identify the application domains, data-sharing problems, and the challenges encountered to date. Second, it critically compared these experiences with claims about blockchain's potential benefits in health care. Third, it developed a theoretical account of challenges that arise in implementing blockchain in health care contexts, thus providing a firmer foundation for appraising its future prospects in health care.

RESULTS

Health care organizations have actively experimented with blockchain technologies since 2016 and have demonstrated proof of concept for several applications (use cases) primarily concerned with administrative data and to facilitate medical research by enabling algorithmic models to be trained on multiple disparately located sets of patient data in a secure, privacy-preserving manner. However, blockchain technology is yet to be implemented at scale in health care, remaining largely in its infancy. These early experiences have demonstrated blockchain's potential to generate meaningful value to health care by facilitating data sharing between organizations in circumstances where computational trust can overcome a lack of social trust that might otherwise prevent valuable cooperation. Although there are genuine prospects of using blockchain to bring about positive transformations in health care, the successful development of blockchain for health care applications faces a number of very significant, multidimensional, and highly complex challenges. Early experience suggests that blockchain is unlikely to rapidly and radically revolutionize health care.

CONCLUSIONS

The successful development of blockchain for health care applications faces numerous significant, multidimensional, and complex challenges that will not be easily overcome, suggesting that blockchain technologies are unlikely to revolutionize health care in the near future.

Translating health information into policy-making: A pragmatic framework

Knowledge translation (KT) is increasingly acknowledged to have the potential to improve policy-making. The value of health information (HI), as part of the KT context, is now also increasingly understood. This paper aims to identify existing tools for the translation of HI into policy-making and to develop a related framework facilitating future application of these identified tools. Updating and building upon a scoping review undertaken for the Health Evidence Network (HEN) Synthesis Report No. 54, commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe in 2017, a literature search was conducted using the same databases (PubMed and Scopus) and the same keywords as in the WHO/HEN scoping review. All papers elaborating on tools enhancing the use of HI in policy-making were included. Of the 2549 records screened, 17 publications were included in this study. This review identified four different types of tools: 1) Visualisation and modelling tools, 2) Information packaging and synthesis tools, 3) Communication and dissemination tools and 4) Information linkage and exchange tools. The distinctions between these are fluid as different tools can be combined or incorporated into one another to complement each other. Our framework shows that communication/dissemination or linkage tools are crucial to effectively inform policy decisions through HI. This study helps to understand and guide the processes of KT of HI.

Information blocking remains prevalent at the start of 21st Century Cures Act: results from a survey of health information exchange organizations

OBJECTIVE

Recent policy making aims to prevent health systems, lectronic health record (EHR) vendors, and others from blocking the electronic sharing of patient data necessary for clinical care. We sought to assess the prevalence of information blocking prior to enforcement of these rules.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a national survey of health information exchange organizations (HIEs) to measure the prevalence of information blocking behaviors observed by these third-party entities. Eighty-nine of 106 HIEs (84%) meeting the inclusion criteria responded.

RESULTS

The majority (55%) of HIEs reported that EHR vendors at least sometimes engage in information blocking, while 30% of HIEs reported the same for health systems. The most common type of information blocking behavior EHR vendors engaged in was setting unreasonably high prices, which 42% of HIEs reported routinely observing. The most common type of information blocking behavior health systems engaged in was refusing to share information, which 14% of HIEs reported routinely observing. Reported levels of vendor information blocking was correlated with regional competition among vendors and information blocking was concentrated in some geographic regions.

DISCUSSION

Our findings are consistent with early reports, revealing persistently high levels of information blocking and important variation by actor, type of behavior, and geography. These trends reflect the observations and experiences of HIEs and their potential biases. Nevertheless, these data serve as a baseline against which to measure the impact of new regulations and to inform policy makers about the most common types of information blocking behaviors.

CONCLUSION

Enforcement aimed at reducing information blocking should consider variation in prevalence and how to most effectively target efforts.

Clinical data sharing improves quality measurement and patient safety

OBJECTIVE

Accurate and robust quality measurement is critical to the future of value-based care. Having incomplete information when calculating quality measures can cause inaccuracies in reported patient outcomes. This research examines how quality calculations vary when using data from an individual electronic health record (EHR) and longitudinal data from a health information exchange (HIE) operating as a multisource registry for quality measurement.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were sampled from 53 healthcare organizations in 2018. Organizations represented both ambulatory care practices and health systems participating in the state of Kansas HIE. Fourteen ambulatory quality measures for 5300 patients were calculated using the data from an individual EHR source and contrasted to calculations when HIE data were added to locally recorded data.

RESULTS

A total of 79% of patients received care at more than 1 facility during the 2018 calendar year. A total of 12 994 applicable quality measure calculations were compared using data from the originating organization vs longitudinal data from the HIE. A total of 15% of all quality measure calculations changed (P < .001) when including HIE data sources, affecting 19% of patients. Changes in quality measure calculations were observed across measures and organizations.

DISCUSSION

These results demonstrate that quality measures calculated using single-site EHR data may be limited by incomplete information. Effective data sharing significantly changes quality calculations, which affect healthcare payments, patient safety, and care quality.

CONCLUSIONS

Federal, state, and commercial programs that use quality measurement as part of reimbursement could promote more accurate and representative quality measurement through methods that increase clinical data sharing.

Health Information Exchange between Specialists and General Practitioners Benefits Rural Patients

BACKGROUND

Health information exchange (HIE) may improve diagnostic accuracy, treatment efficacy, and safety by providing treating physicians with expert advice. However, most previous studies on HIE have been observational in nature.

OBJECTIVES

To examine whether collaboration between specialists and general practitioners (GPs) in rural areas via HIE can improve outcomes among patients at low-to-moderate risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and stroke.

METHODS

In this randomized controlled trial, the Miyagi Medical and Welfare Information Network was used for HIE. We evaluated the clinical data of 1,092 patients aged ≥65 years living in the rural areas of the Miyagi Prefecture and receiving care from GPs only. High-risk patients were immediately referred to specialists, whereas low-to-moderate risk patients were randomly assigned to an intervention group in which GPs were advised by specialists through HIE (n = 518, 38% male, mean age = 76 ± 7 years) or a control group in which GPs received no advice by specialists (n = 521, 39% male, mean age = 75 ± 7 years).

RESULTS

In the intention-to-treat analysis, all-cause mortality and cumulative incidence of serious adverse events (e.g., hospital admission or unexpected referral to specialists) did not differ between the groups. However, per-protocol analysis controlling for GP adherence with specialist recommendations revealed significantly reduced all-cause mortality (p = 0.04) and cumulative serious adverse event incidence (p = 0.04) in the intervention group compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION

HIE systems may improve outcomes among low-to-moderate risk patients by promoting greater collaboration between specialists and GPs, particularly in rural areas with few local specialists.

A Survey Of Health Information Exchange Organizations In Advance Of A Nationwide Connectivity Framework

After more than a decade of investment in electronic health information exchange (HIE), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is advancing a national framework-the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement-to connect islands of electronic data sharing. This national framework creates new potential opportunities and challenges for state and local health information organizations (HIOs). We undertook our sixth national HIO survey to assess the current state of HIOs and to newly examine anticipated responses to the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement. We identified eighty-nine operational HIOs, down from 106 in 2014. Although more than half of HIOs struggled with financial viability and competition from health information technology vendor-based HIE networks, many are large in scale, offer a breadth of services to diverse participants, and engage in network-to-network connectivity. Looking ahead, 56 percent of HIOs planned to participate in the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, and 41 percent were unsure. As the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement advances basic network-to-network connectivity, HIOs that have experience with such connectivity while also offering value-added services will be well positioned for sustainability and growth.

Identifying Opportunities to Strengthen the Public Health Informatics Infrastructure: Exploring Hospitals' Challenges with Data Exchange

Policy Points Even though most hospitals have the technological ability to exchange data with public health agencies, the majority continue to experience challenges. Most challenges are attributable to the general resources of public health agencies, although workforce limitations, technology issues such as a lack of data standards, and policy uncertainty around reporting requirements also remain prominent issues. Ongoing funding to support the adoption of technology and strengthen the development of the health informatics workforce, combined with revising the promotion of the interoperability scoring approach, will likely help improve the exchange of electronic data between hospitals and public health agencies.

CONTEXT

The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted significant barriers in the exchange of essential information between hospitals and local public health agencies. Thus it remains important to clarify the specific issues that hospitals may face in reporting to public health agencies to inform focused approaches to improve the information exchange for the current pandemic as well as ongoing public health activities and population health management.

METHODS

This study uses cross-sectional data of acute-care, nonfederal hospitals from the 2017 American Hospital Association Annual Survey and Information Technology supplement. Guided by the technology-organization-environment framework, we coded the responses to a question regarding the challenges that hospitals face in submitting data to public health agencies by using content analysis according to the type of challenge (i.e., technology, organization, or environment), responsible entity (i.e., hospital, public health agency, vendor, multiple), and the specific issue described. We used multivariable logistic and multinomial regression to identify characteristics of hospitals associated with experiencing the types of challenges.

FINDINGS

Our findings show that of the 2,794 hospitals in our analysis, 1,696 (61%) reported experiencing at least one challenge in reporting health data to a public health agency. Organizational issues were the most frequently reported type of challenge, noted by 1,455 hospitals. The most common specific issue, reported by 1,117 hospitals, was the general resources of public health agencies. An advanced EHR system and participation in a health information exchange both decreased the likelihood of not reporting experiencing a challenge and increased the likelihood of reporting an organizational challenge.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings inform policy recommendations such as improving data standards, increasing funding for public health agencies to improve their technological capabilities, offering workforce training programs, and increasing clarity of policy specifications and reporting. These approaches can improve the exchange of information between hospitals and public health agencies.

Hospital adoption of multiple health information exchange approaches and information accessibility

OBJECTIVE

Hospital engagement in electronic health information exchange (HIE) has increased over recent years. We aimed to 1) determine the change in adoption of 3 types of information exchange: secure messaging, provider portals, and use of an HIE; and 2) to assess if growth in each approach corresponded to increased ability to access and integrate patient information from outside providers.

METHODS

Panel analysis of all nonfederal, acute care hospitals in the United States using hospital- and year-fixed effects. The sample consisted of 1917 hospitals that responded to the American Hospital Association Information Technology Supplement every year from 2014 to 2016.

RESULTS

Adoption of each approach increased by 9-15 percentage points over the study period. The average number of HIE approaches used by each hospital increased from 1.0 to 1.4. Adoption of each approach was associated with increased likelihood that providers routinely had necessary outside information of 4.2-12.7 percentage points and 4.5-13.3 percentage points increase in information integration. Secure messaging was associated with the largest increase in both. Adoption of 1 approach increased the likelihood of having outside information by 10.3 percentage points, while adopting a second approach further increased the likelihood by 9.5 percentage points. Trends in number of approaches and integration were similar.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

No single HIE tool provided high levels of usable, integrated health information. Instead, hospitals benefited from adopting multiple tools. Policy initiatives that reduce the complexity of enabling high value HIE could result in broader adoption of HIE and use of information to inform care.

Unfulfilled promises of health information exchange: What inhibits ambulatory clinics from electronically sharing health information?

PURPOSE

This study seeks to understand the key inhibitors for health information exchange (HIE) by ambulatory (outpatient) clinics. We examine the key technological, organizational and environmental factors that inhibit an ambulatory clinic from electronically exchanging health information with external clinics and hospitals.

METHODS

We utilize survey data from 1285 ambulatory clinics in the US state of Minnesota. Using logistic regressions, we assess if the ambulatory clinic's HIE with external clinics and external hospitals are associated with fourteen inhibitors from technological, organizational and environmental contexts in which ambulatory clinics operate.

RESULTS

Among the technological inhibitors, we find lack of adequate technological infrastructure, difficulties in integrating external data with electronic medical record systems, and security concerns to inhibit ambulatory clinics' HIE with both clinics and hospitals. Inadequate technical support was a barrier for HIE with hospitals, whereas inadequate training of staff was an inhibitor for clinic-to-clinic HIE. Of the environmental variables, legal concerns and complexity in framing HIE agreements with partners were found to inhibit ambulatory clinics' HIE with both external clinics and hospitals. Lack of partner readiness and ability was an inhibiting factor for clinic-to-hospital HIE whereas issues in patient consent, and problems in choosing the right vendor with a good fit were inhibiting ambulatory clinics' HIE with other clinics. Among the organizational variables, lack of adequate senior leadership support and complexity of workflow changes inhibited clinic-to-clinic health data sharing, whereas unclear return on investment (ROI) for HIE was a deterrent for ambulatory clinics' HIE with hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

This study throws light on electronic HIE practices and its key inhibitors in ambulatory clinics, an understudied area in digital health. This paper provides unique insights into specific inhibitors that deter clinic-to-clinic health information sharing versus those that affect and clinic-to-hospital health information exchange.

Emergency care access to primary care records: an observational study

OBJECTIVE

To measure lookup rates of externally held primary care records accessed in emergency care and identify patient characteristics, conditions and potential consequences associated with access.

MEASURES

Rates of primary care record access and re-presentation to the emergency department (ED) within 30 days and hospital admission.

DESIGN

A retrospective observational study of 77 181 ED presentations over 4 years and 9 months, analysing 8184 index presentations in which patients' primary care records were accessed from the ED. Data were compared with 17 449 randomly selected index control presentations. Analysis included propensity score matching for age and triage categories.

RESULTS

6.3% of overall ED presentations triggered a lookup (rising to 8.3% in year 5); 83.1% of patients were only looked up once and 16.9% of patients looked up on multiple occasions. Lookup patients were on average 25 years older (z=-9.180, p<0.001, r=0.43). Patients with more urgent triage classifications had their records accessed more frequently (z=-36.47, p<0.001, r=0.23). Record access was associated with a significant but negligible increase in hospital admission (χ² (1, n=13 120)=98.385, p<0.001, phi=0.087) and readmission within 30 days (χ² (1, n=13 120)=86.288, p<0.001, phi=0.081).

DISCUSSION

Emergency care clinicians access primary care records more frequently for older patients or those in higher triage categories. Increased levels of inpatient admission and re-presentation within 30 days are likely linked to age and triage categories.

CONCLUSION

Further studies should focus on the impact of record access on clinical and process outcomes and which record elements have the most utility to shape clinical decisions.

Adoption and Performance of Complementary Clinical Information Technologies: Analysis of a Survey of General Practitioners

Background

The benefits from the combination of 4 clinical information systems (CISs)—electronic health records (EHRs), health information exchange (HIE), personal health records (PHRs), and telehealth—in primary care depend on the configuration of their functional capabilities available to clinicians. However, our empirical knowledge of these configurations and their associated performance implications is very limited because they have mostly been studied in isolation.

Objective

This study aims to pursue 3 objectives: (1) characterize general practitioners (GPs) by uncovering the typical profiles of combinations of 4 major CIS capabilities, (2) identify physician and practice characteristics that predict cluster membership, and (3) assess the variation in the levels of performance associated with each configuration.

Methods

We used data from a survey of GPs conducted throughout the European Union (N=5793). First, 4 factors, that is, EHRs, HIE, PHRs, and Telehealth, were created. Second, a cluster analysis helps uncover clusters of GPs based on the 4 factors. Third, we compared the clusters according to five performance outcomes using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a Tamhane T2 post hoc test. Fourth, univariate and multivariate multinomial logistic regressions were used to identify predictors of the clusters. Finally, with a multivariate multinomial logistic regression, among the clusters, we compared performance in terms of the number of patients treated (3 levels) over the last 2 years.

Results

We unveiled 3 clusters of GPs with different levels of CIS capability profiles: strong (1956/5793, 37.36%), medium (2764/5793, 47.71%), and weak (524/5793, 9.04%). The logistic regression analysis indicates that physicians (younger, female, and less experienced) and practice (solo) characteristics are significantly associated with a weak profile. The ANOVAs revealed a strong cluster associated with significantly high practice performance outcomes in terms of the quality of care, efficiency, productivity, and improvement of working processes, and two noncomprehensive medium and weak profiles associated with medium (equifinal) practice performance outcomes. The logistic regression analysis also revealed that physicians in the weak profile are associated with a decrease in the number of patients treated over the last 2 years.

Conclusions

Different CIS capability profiles may lead to similar equifinal performance outcomes. This underlines the importance of looking beyond the adoption of 1 CIS capability versus a cluster of capabilities when studying CISs. GPs in the strong cluster exhibit a comprehensive CIS capability profile and outperform the other two clusters with noncomprehensive profiles, leading to significantly high performance in terms of the quality of care provided to patients, efficiency of the practice, productivity of the practice, and improvement of working processes. Our findings indicate that medical practices should develop high capabilities in all 4 CISs if they have to maximize their performance outcomes because efforts to develop high capabilities selectively may only be in vain.

National monitoring and evaluation of eHealth: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

There has been substantial growth in eHealth over the past decade, driven by expectations of improved healthcare system performance. Despite substantial eHealth investment, little is known about the monitoring and evaluation strategies for gauging progress in eHealth availability and use. This scoping review aims to map the existing literature and depict the predominant approaches and methodological recommendations to national and regional monitoring and evaluation of eHealth availability and use, to advance national strategies for monitoring and evaluating eHealth.

METHODS

Peer-reviewed and grey literature on monitoring and evaluation of eHealth availability and use published between January 1, 2009, and March 11, 2019, were eligible for inclusion. A total of 2354 publications were identified and 36 publications were included after full-text review. Data on publication type (eg, empirical research), country, level (national or regional), publication year, method (eg, survey), and domain (eg, provider-centric electronic record) were charted.

RESULTS

The majority of publications monitored availability alone or applied a combination of availability and use measures. Surveys were the most common data collection method (used in 86% of the publications). Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Commission, Canada Health Infoway, and World Health Organization (WHO) have developed comprehensive eHealth monitoring and evaluation methodology recommendations.

DISCUSSION

Establishing continuous national eHealth monitoring and evaluation, based on international approaches and recommendations, could improve the ability for cross-country benchmarking and learning. This scoping review provides an overview of the predominant approaches to and recommendations for national and regional monitoring and evaluation of eHealth. It thereby provides a starting point for developing national eHealth monitoring strategies.

Miyagi Medical and Welfare Information Network: A Backup System for Patient Clinical Information after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit the northeastern coastal region of Japan caused about 18,000 casualties and destroyed numerous buildings. Additionally, many medical facilities were damaged and patient medical records lost. In order to maintain patient clinical information, a prefectural medical network system, the Miyagi Medical and Welfare Information Network (MMWIN), began providing backup data storage services in 2013 for hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and other care facilities as a precaution for upcoming disasters. This system also facilitates the sharing of clinical information trans-institutionally as long as patients provide consent for this. In the present study, we examined the development of the MMWIN and its efficiency during the 5 years from its launch, and identified general problems to maintain such a backup system. At the end of 2018, the system contained backup data from more than 11 million patients with more than 420 million data items; more than 900 facilities were MMWIN users, and the number of patients consenting to sharing their clinical information reached 90,000. The use of the system has become widespread and the accumulating data should be utilized for research in the future. Maintaining a balance between income and cost is critical to make this project independent from local government subsidies.

Key Factors Affecting Ambulatory Care Providers' Electronic Exchange of Health Information With Affiliated and Unaffiliated Partners: Web-Based Survey Study

Background

Despite the potential benefits of electronic health information exchange (HIE) to improve the quality and efficiency of care, HIE use by ambulatory providers remains low. Ambulatory providers can greatly improve the quality of care by electronically exchanging health information with affiliated providers within their health care network as well as with unaffiliated, external providers.

Objective

This study aimed to examine the extent of electronic HIE use by ambulatory clinics with affiliated providers within their health system and with external providers, as well as the key technological, organizational, and environmental factors affecting the extent of HIE use within and outside the health system.

Methods

A Web-based survey of 320 ambulatory care providers was conducted in the state of Illinois. The study examined the extent of HIE usage by ambulatory providers with hospitals, clinics, and other facilities within and outside their health care system–encompassing seven kinds of health care data. Ten factors pertaining to technology (IT [information technology] Compatibility, External IT Support, Security & Privacy Safeguards), organization (Workflow Adaptability, Senior Leadership Support, Clinicians Health-IT Knowledge, Staff Health-IT Knowledge), and environment (Government Efforts & Incentives, Partner Readiness, Competitors and Peers) were assessed. A series of multivariate regressions were used to examine predictor effects.

Results

The 6 regressions produced adjusted R-squared values ranging from 0.44 to 0.63. We found that ambulatory clinics exchanged more health information electronically with affiliated entities within their health system as compared with those outside their health system. Partner readiness emerged as the most significant predictor of HIE usage with all entities. Governmental initiatives for HIE, clinicians’ prior familiarity and knowledge of health IT systems, implementation of appropriate security, and privacy safeguards were also significant predictors. External information technology support and workflow adaptability emerged as key predictors for HIE use outside a clinic’s health system. Differences based on clinic size, ownership, and specialty were also observed.

Conclusions

This study provides exploratory insights into HIE use by ambulatory providers within and outside their health care system and differential predictors that impact HIE use. HIE use can be further improved by encouraging large-scale interoperability efforts, improving external IT support, and redesigning adaptable workflows.

An International Perspective on Health Information Exchange: Adoption in OECD Countries With Different Health Care System Configurations

The sharing of information among various care providers is becoming an essential feature of health care systems, and many countries are now adopting policies to foster health information exchange, defined as the electronic transfer of data or information among health care organizations involved in the delivery of care. Given the increasing adoption of this type of policy in several Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, it is important to compare experiences from different countries, because policy adoption in one country can be explained more comprehensively and coherently through comparison with similar policies adopted in other nations. To make a more meaningful cross-country comparison, this article identifies a taxonomy of health systems, and it analyzes institutional and resource-based factors related to health information exchange adoption and how they differ in three main types of health systems: the National Health Service, social health insurance, and private health insurance.

The Digitization of Patient Care: A Review of the Effects of Electronic Health Records on Health Care Quality and Utilization

Electronic health records (EHRs) adoption has become nearly universal during the past decade. Academic research into the effects of EHRs has examined factors influencing adoption, clinical care benefits, financial and cost implications, and more. We provide an interdisciplinary overview and synthesis of this literature, drawing on work in public and population health, informatics, medicine, management information systems, and economics. We then chart paths forward for policy, practice, and research.

Alternative payment models and hospital engagement in health information exchange

OBJECTIVES

To assess whether hospital participation in alternative payment models (APMs) is associated with greater engagement in health information exchange (HIE) along 4 dimensions: volume of patients for whom information is exchanged, diversity of information types, breadth of partner types, and depth of technical approach.

STUDY DESIGN

Pooled, cross-sectional analysis of data on US hospitals from 2014 to 2015.

METHODS

APM participation came from Leavitt Partners data, Medicare public use files, and the American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey. We used Medicare data to measure HIE volume for 798 hospitals attesting to stage 2 Meaningful Use and the AHA Information Technology Supplement to measure HIE diversity, breadth, and depth for 1730 hospitals. We used mixed-effects regression to estimate the association between participation in APMs and each dimension of HIE.

RESULTS

Compared with nonparticipating hospitals, full-year APM participation was associated with lower HIE volume (data were sent for 11 percentage points fewer discharges; P = .003), greater HIE diversity (of 4 data types, 0.3 more were transmitted; P <.001), greater HIE breadth (of 3 partner types, data were sent to 0.3 more; P <.001), and greater HIE depth (the odds of using a push and pull approach were 1.68 times greater; P = .004).

CONCLUSIONS

Our finding that APM participation was associated with greater HIE diversity, breadth, and depth suggests that value-based payment may be spurring improvements in HIE infrastructure. However, our finding that APM participation is associated with lower HIE volume suggests that there may be an incentive to focus HIE investments on a limited number of partners.

Hospital adoption of interoperability functions

BACKGROUND

The seamless transmission of patient health information across health care settings, commonly referred to as interoperability, is a focal point of federal electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs. The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which interoperability functions outlined in Promoting Interoperability Stage 3 (PI3) requirements have been adopted by US hospitals, and barriers to interoperability.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 2781 non-federal, acute-care hospitals responding to the 2015 American Hospital Association Information Technology (IT) Supplement survey. We described the percentage of hospitals that adopted PI3 functionalities, identified hospital characteristics associated with adoption, and compared barriers to interoperability between hospitals that have and have not adopted PI3 functionalities.

RESULTS

Only 16.7% of hospitals had adopted all six core functionalities required to meet PI3 objectives. Over 70% of hospitals had implemented at least four of six functionalities, while 1.8% implemented none. Major teaching (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=1.66), system affiliated (aOR=1.63), and regional health information exchange participating hospitals (aOR=1.86) were more likely to adopt PI3 functionalities, while for-profit hospitals (OR=0.11) were less likely. Hospitals that adopted PI3 functionalities more frequently reported experiencing barriers to interoperability, including the receiving provider's ability and interest to send/receive data.

CONCLUSIONS

While only a small proportion of hospitals had implemented all six PI3 functionalities at the time the requirements were finalized, the vast majority had already implemented most of the required functionalities. Still, several barriers stand in the way of achieving seamless interoperability, many of which lie outside hospitals' control.

Does participation in health information exchange improve hospital efficiency?

The federal government allocated nearly $30 billion to spur the development of information technology infrastructure capable of supporting the exchange of interoperable clinical data, leading to growth in hospital participation in health information exchange (HIE) networks. HIEs have the potential to improve care coordination across healthcare providers, leading ultimately to increased productivity of health services for hospitals. However, the impact of HIE participation on hospital efficiency remains unclear. This dynamic prompts the question asked by this study: does HIE participation improve hospital efficiency. This study estimates the effect of HIE participation on efficiency using a national sample of 1017 hospitals from 2009 to 2012. Using a two-stage analytic design, efficiency indices were determined using the Malmquist algorithm and then regressed on a set of hospital characteristics. Results suggest that any participation in HIE can improve both technical efficiency change and total factor productivity (TFP). A second model examining total years of HIE participation shows a benefit of one and three years of participation on TFP. These results suggest that hospital investment in HIE participation may be a useful strategy to improve hospital operational performance, and that policy should continue to support increased participation and use of HIE. More research is needed to identify the exact mechanisms through which HIE participation can improve hospital efficiency.

Progress In Interoperability: Measuring US Hospitals' Engagement In Sharing Patient Data

Achieving an interoperable health care system remains a top US policy priority. Despite substantial efforts to encourage interoperability, the first set of national data in 2014 suggested that hospitals' engagement levels were low. With 2015 data now available, we examined the first national trends in engagement in four domains of interoperability: finding, sending, receiving, and integrating electronic patient information from outside providers. We found small gains, with 29.7 percent of hospitals engaging in all four domains in 2015 compared to 24.5 percent in 2014. The two domains with the most progress were sending (with an increase of 8.1 percentage points) and receiving (an increase of 8.4 percentage points) information, while there was no change in integrating systems. Hospitals' use for patient care of data from outside providers was low, with only 18.7 percent of hospitals reporting that they "often" used these data. Our results reveal that hospitals' progress toward interoperability is slow and that progress is focused on moving information between hospitals, not on ensuring usability of information in clinical decisions.

The relationship between hospital and ehr vendor market dynamics on health information organization presence and participation

Background

Health Information Organizations (HIOs) are third party organizations that facilitate electronic health information exchange (HIE) between providers in a geographic area. Despite benefits from HIE, HIOs have struggled to form and subsequently gain broad provider participation. We sought to assess whether market-level hospital and EHR vendor dynamics are associated with presence and level of hospital participation in HIOs.

Methods

2014 data on 4523 hospitals and their EHR vendors were aggregated to the market level. We used multivariate OLS regression to analyze the relationship between hospital and vendor dynamics and (1) probability of HIO presence and (2) percent of hospitals participating in an HIO.

Results

298 of 469 markets (64%) had HIO presence, and in those markets, 47% of hospitals participated in an HIO on average. In multivariate analysis, four characteristics were associated with HIO presence. Markets with more hospitals, markets with more EHR vendors, and markets with an EHR vendor-led HIE approach were more likely to have an HIO. Compared to markets with low hospital competition, markets with high hospital competition had a 25 percentage point lower probability of HIO presence. Two characteristics were associated with level of hospital HIO participation. Markets with more hospitals as well as markets with high vendor competition (compared to low competition) had lower participation.

Conclusion

Both hospital and EHR vendor dynamics are associated with whether a market has an HIO as well as the level of hospital participation in HIOs.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12911-018-0605-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

"The Doctor Needs to Know": Acceptability of Smartphone Location Tracking for Care Coordination

Background

Care coordination can be highly challenging to carry out. When care is fragmented across health systems and providers, there is an increased likelihood of hospital readmissions and wasteful health care spending. During and after care transitions, smartphones have the potential to bolster information transfer and care coordination. However, little research has examined patients’ perceptions of using smartphones to coordinate care.

Objective

This study’s primary objective was to explore patient acceptability of a smartphone app that could facilitate care coordination in a safety net setting. Our secondary objective was to identify how clinicians and other members of primary care teams could use this app to coordinate care.

Methods

This qualitative study was conducted at a federally qualified health center in metropolitan Chicago, IL. We conducted four focus groups (two in English, two in Spanish) with high-risk adults who owned a smartphone and received services from an organizational care management program. We also conducted structured interviews with clinicians and a group interview with care managers. Focus groups elicited patients’ perceptions of a smartphone app designed to: (1) identify emergency department (ED) visits and inpatient stays using real-time location data; (2) send automated notifications (ie, alerts) to users’ phones, asking whether they were a patient in the hospital; and (3) send automated messages to primary care teams to notify them about patients’ confirmed ED visits and inpatient stays. Focus group transcripts were coded based on emergent themes. Clinicians and care managers were asked about messages they would like to receive from the app.

Results

Five main themes emerged in patient focus group discussions. First, participants expressed a high degree of willingness to use the proposed app during inpatient stays. Second, participants expressed varying degrees of willingness to use the app during ED visits, particularly for low acuity ED visits. Third, participants stated their willingness to have their location tracked by the proposed app due to its perceived benefits. Fourth, the most frequently mentioned barriers to acceptability were inconveniences such as “false alarm” notifications and smartphone battery drainage. Finally, there was some tension between how to maximize usability without unnecessarily increasing user burden. Both clinicians and care managers expressed interest in receiving messages from the app at the time of hospital arrival and at discharge. Clinicians were particularly interested in conducting outreach during ED visits and inpatient stays, while care managers expressed more interest in coordinating postdischarge care.

Conclusions

High-risk primary care patients in a safety net setting reported a willingness to utilize smartphone location tracking technology to facilitate care coordination. Further research is needed on the development and implementation of new smartphone-based approaches to care coordination.

Legal Barriers to the Growth of Health Information Exchange-Boulders or Pebbles?

Policy Points: Historically, in addition to economic and technical hurdles, state and federal health information privacy laws have been cited as a significant obstacle to expanding electronic health information exchange (HIE) in the United States. Our review finds that over the past decade, several helpful developments have ameliorated the legal barriers to HIE, although variation in states' patient consent requirements remains a challenge. Today, health care providers' complaints about legal obstacles to HIE may be better understood as reflecting concerns about the economic and competitive risks of information sharing.

CONTEXT

Although the clinical benefits of exchanging patients' health information electronically across providers have long been recognized, participation in health information exchange (HIE) has lagged behind adoption of electronic health records. Barriers erected by federal and state health information privacy law have been cited as a leading reason for the slow progress. A comprehensive assessment of these issues has not been undertaken for nearly a decade, despite a number of salient legal developments.

METHODS

Analysis of federal and state health information privacy statutes and regulations and secondary materials.

FINDINGS

Although some legal barriers to HIE persist, many have been ameliorated-in some cases, simply through improved understanding of what the law actually requires. It is now clear that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act presents no obstacles to electronically sharing protected health information for treatment purposes and does not hold providers who properly disclose information liable for privacy breaches by recipients. The failure of federal efforts to establish a unique patient identifier number does slow HIE by inhibiting optimal matching of patient records, but other action to facilitate matching will be taken under the 21st Century Cures Act. The Cures Act also creates the legal architecture to begin to combat "information blocking." Varying patient consent requirements under federal and state law are the most important remaining legal barrier to HIE progress. However, federal rules relating to disclosure of substance-abuse treatment information were recently liberalized, and development of a technical standard, Data Segmentation for Privacy, or DS4P, now permits sensitive data requiring special handling to be segmented within a patient's record. Even with these developments, state-law requirements for patient consent remain daunting to navigate.

CONCLUSIONS

Although patient consent requirements make HIE challenging, providers' expressed worries about legal barriers to participating in HIE likely primarily reflect concerns that are economically motivated. Lowering the cost of HIE or increasing financial incentives may boost provider participation more than further reducing legal barriers.

Health Information Exchange Use (1990-2015): A Systematic Review

Background:

In June 2014, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology published a 10-year roadmap for the United States to achieve interoperability of electronic health records (EHR) by 2024. A key component of this strategy is the promotion of nationwide health information exchange (HIE). The 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act provided significant investments to achieve HIE.

Objective:

We conducted a systematic literature review to describe the use of HIE through 2015.

Methods:

We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases (1990 – 2015); reference lists; and tables of contents of journals not indexed in the databases searched. We extracted data describing study design, setting, geographic location, characteristics of HIE implementation, analysis, follow-up, and results. Study quality was dual-rated using pre-specified criteria and discrepancies resolved through consensus.

Results:

We identified 58 studies describing either level of use or primary uses of HIE. These were a mix of surveys, retrospective database analyses, descriptions of audit logs, and focus groups. Settings ranged from community-wide to multinational. Results suggest that HIE use has risen substantially over time, with 82% of non-federal hospitals exchanging information (2015), 38% of physician practices (2013), and 17-23% of long-term care facilities (2013). Statewide efforts, originally funded by HITECH, varied widely, with a small number of states providing the bulk of the data. Characteristics of greater use include the presence of an EHR, larger practice size, and larger market share of the health-system.

Conclusions:

Use of HIE in the United States is growing but is still limited. Opportunities remain for expansion. Characteristics of successful implementations may provide a path forward.

The Use of Clinical Registries in the United States: A Landscape Survey

Introduction

The use of information from clinical registries for improvement and value-based payment is increasing, yet information about registry use is not widely available. We conducted a landscape survey to understand registry uses, focus areas and challenges. The survey addressed the structure and organization of registry programs, as well as their purpose and scope.

Setting

The survey was conducted by the National Quality Registry Network (NQRN), a community of organizations interested in registries. NQRN is a program of the PCPI, a national convener of medical specialty and professional societies and associations, which constitute a majority of registry stewards in the United States.

Methods

We surveyed 152 societies and associations, asking about registry programs, governance, number of registries, purpose and data uses, data collection, expenses, funding and interoperability.

Results

The response rate was 52 percent. Many registries were self-funded, with 39 percent spending less than $1 million per year, and 32 percent spending $1-9.9 million. The typical registry had three full-time equivalent staff. Registries were frequently used for quality improvement, benchmarking and clinical decision support. 85 percent captured outpatient data. Most registries collected demographics, treatments, practitioner information and comorbidities; 53 percent captured patient-reported outcomes. 88 percent used manual data entry and 18 percent linked to external secondary data sources. Cost, interoperability and vendor management were barriers to continued registry development.

Conclusions

Registries captured data across a broad scope, audited data quality using multiple techniques, and used a mix of automated and manual data capture methods. Registry interoperability was still a challenge, even among registries using nationally accepted data standards.

A population ecology perspective on the functioning and future of health information organizations

BACKGROUND

Increasingly, health care providers need to exchange information to meet policy expectations and business needs. A variety of health information organizations (HIOs) provide services to facilitate health information exchange (HIE). However, the future of these organizations is unclear.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to explore the environmental context, potential futures, and survivability of community HIOs, enterprise HIEs, and electronic health record vendor-mediated exchange using the population ecology theory.

APPROACH

Qualitative interviews with 33 key informants representing each type of HIE organization were analyzed using template analysis.

RESULTS

Community HIOs, enterprise HIEs, and electronic health record vendors exhibited a high degree of competition for resources, especially in the area of exchange infrastructure services. Competition resulted in closures in some areas. In response to environmental pressures, each organizational type was endeavoring to differentiate its services and unique use case, as well as pursing symbiotic relationships or attempting resource partitioning.

CONCLUSION

HIOs compete for similar resources and are reacting to environmental pressures to better position themselves for continued survival and success. Our ecological research perspective helps move the discourse away from situation of a single exchange organization type toward a view of the broader dynamics and relationships of all organizations involved in facilitating HIE activities.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

HIOs are attempting to partition the environment and differentiate services. HIE options should not be construed as an "either/or" decision, but one where multiple and complementary participation may be required.

Effect of health information exchange on recognition of medication discrepancies is interrupted when data charges are introduced: results of a cluster-randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

To determine the effect of health information exchange (HIE) on medication prescribing for hospital inpatients in a cluster-randomized controlled trial, and to examine the prescribing effect of availability of information from a large pharmacy insurance plan in a natural experiment.

METHODS

Patients admitted to an urban hospital received structured medication reconciliation by an intervention pharmacist with (intervention) or without (control) access to a regional HIE. The HIE contained prescribing information from the largest hospitals and pharmacy insurance plan in the region for the first 10 months of the study, but only from the hospitals for the last 21 months, when data charges were imposed by the insurance plan. The primary endpoint was discrepancies between preadmission and inpatient medication regimens, and secondary endpoints included adverse drug events (ADEs) and proportions of rectified discrepancies.

RESULTS

Overall, 186 and 195 patients were assigned to intervention and control, respectively. Patients were 60 years old on average and took a mean of 7 medications before admission. There was no difference between intervention and control in number of risk-weighted discrepancies (6.4 vs 5.8, P = .452), discrepancy-associated ADEs (0.102 vs 0.092 per admission, P = .964), or rectification of discrepancies (0.026 vs 0.036 per opportunity, P = .539). However, patients who received medication reconciliation with pharmacy insurance data available had more risk-weighted medication discrepancies identified than those who received usual care (8.0 vs 5.9, P = .038).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

HIE may improve outcomes of medication reconciliation. Charging for access to medication information interrupts this effect. Efforts are needed to understand and increase prescribers' rectification of medication discrepancies.

Community-Based Palliative Care and Advance Care Planning Documentation: Evidence from a Multispecialty Group

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

With the growing public demand for access to critical health data across care settings, it is essential that advance care planning (ACP) information be included in the electronic health record (EHR) so that multiple clinicians can access it and understand individuals' preferences for end-of-life care. Community-based palliative care programs often incorporate ACP services. This study examined whether a community-based palliative care program is associated with digitally extractable ACP documentation in the EHR.

DESIGN

Observational study using propensity score-weighted generalized estimation equations to examine patterns of digitally extractable ACP documentation.

SETTING

Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), a multispecialty ambulatory healthcare system in northern California.

PARTICIPANTS

Individuals aged 65 and older with serious illnesses between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2014 (N = 3,444).

INTERVENTION

Community-based palliative care program in PAMF.

MEASUREMENTS

Digitally extractable ACP in EHR.

RESULTS

We found that only 14% (n = 483) of individuals with serious illnesses had digitally extractable ACP in electronic health records. Of the 6% of individuals receiving palliative care, 65% had ACP, versus 11% of those not receiving palliative care. Study results showed a strong positive association between palliative care and ACP.

CONCLUSION

Only a small percentage of individuals with serious illnesses had ACP documentation in the EHR. Individuals with serious illnesses infrequently used palliative care delivered by board-certified palliative care specialists. Palliative care service use was associated with higher rates of ACP after controlling for organizational and individual characteristics using a propensity score weighting method. Scalable interventions targeted at non-palliative care clinicians for universal access to ACP are needed.

An observational study of the relationship between meaningful use-based electronic health information exchange, interoperability, and medication reconciliation capabilities

Stagnation in hospitals' adoption of data integration functionalities coupled with reduction in the number of operational health information exchanges could become a significant impediment to hospitals' adoption of 3 critical capabilities: electronic health information exchange, interoperability, and medication reconciliation, in which electronic systems are used to assist with resolving medication discrepancies and improving patient safety. Against this backdrop, we assessed the relationships between the 3 capabilities.We conducted an observational study applying partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique to 27 variables obtained from the 2013 American Hospital Association annual survey Information Technology (IT) supplement, which describes health IT capabilities.We included 1330 hospitals. In confirmatory factor analysis, out of the 27 variables, 15 achieved loading values greater than 0.548 at P < .001, as such were validated as the building blocks of the 3 capabilities. Subsequent path analysis showed a significant, positive, and cyclic relationship between the capabilities, in that decreases in the hospitals' adoption of one would lead to decreases in the adoption of the others.These results show that capability for high quality medication reconciliation may be impeded by lagging adoption of interoperability and health information exchange capabilities. Policies focused on improving one or more of these capabilities may have ancillary benefits.

The role and benefits of accessing primary care patient records during unscheduled care: a systematic review

Background

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of accessing primary care records on unscheduled care. Unscheduled care is typically delivered in hospital Emergency Departments. Studies published to December 2014 reporting on primary care record access during unscheduled care were retrieved.

Results

Twenty-two articles met inclusion criteria from a pool of 192. Many shared electronic health records (SEHRs) were large in scale, servicing many millions of patients. Reported utilization rates by clinicians was variable, with rates >20% amongst health management organizations but much lower in nation-scale systems. No study reported on clinical outcomes or patient safety, and no economic studies of SEHR access during unscheduled care were available. Design factors that may affect utilization included consent and access models, SEHR content, and system usability and reliability.

Conclusions

Despite their size and expense, SEHRs designed to support unscheduled care have been poorly evaluated, and it is not possible to draw conclusions about any likely benefits associated with their use. Heterogeneity across the systems and the populations they serve make generalization about system design or performance difficult. None of the reviewed studies used a theoretical model to guide evaluation. Value of Information models may be a useful theoretical approach to design evaluation metrics, facilitating comparison across systems in future studies. Well-designed SEHRs should in principle be capable of improving the efficiency, quality and safety of unscheduled care, but at present the evidence for such benefits is weak, largely because it has not been sought.

Health Information Exchange Organizations and Their Support for Research: Current State and Future Outlook

Federal investment spurred health information exchange organization (HIO) development and maturation to provide third-party approaches to electronic health information exchange across disparate electronic health record (EHR) systems. By creating opportunities for data aggregation across multiple medical institutions, HIOs also spur research. Using data from a 2015 national web-based survey of HIOs (N = 64), we identified HIOs supporting or not supporting research, and compared characteristics of the 2 groups. We found that 15 (23%) of the 64 HIOs reported supporting research, 30 (47%) reported planning to support research, and 19 (30%) did not support research. Research-supporting HIOs were more likely than nonresearch supporting HIOs to offer advanced functionality, such as allowing users to query and retrieve data from multiple sources. Our study offers encouraging preliminary evidence that HIOs are supporting research, which could offer a solution to current challenges in creating comprehensive longitudinal clinical data sources for research.

Untapped Potential of Observational Research to Inform Clinical Decision Making: American Society of Clinical Oncology Research Statement

ASCO believes that high-quality observational studies can advance evidence-based practice for cancer care and are complementary to randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Observational studies can generate hypotheses by evaluating novel exposures or biomarkers and by revealing patterns of care and relationships that might not otherwise be discovered. Researchers can then test these hypotheses in RCTs. Observational studies can also answer or inform questions that either have not been or cannot be answered by RCTs. In addition, observational studies can be used for postmarketing surveillance of new cancer treatments, particularly in vulnerable populations. The incorporation of observational research as part of clinical decision making is consistent with the position of many leading institutions. ASCO identified five overarching recommendations to enhance the role of observational research in clinical decision making: (1) improve the quality of electronic health data available for research, (2) improve interoperability and the exchange of electronic health information, (3) ensure the use of rigorous observational research methodologies, (4) promote transparent reporting of observational research studies, and (5) protect patient privacy.

A distributed framework for health information exchange using smartphone technologies

Nationwide health information exchange (NHIE) continues to be a persistent concern for government agencies, despite the many efforts and the conceived benefits of sharing patient data among healthcare providers. Difficulties in ensuring global connectivity, interoperability, and concerns on security have always hampered the government from successfully deploying NHIE. By looking at NHIE from a fresh perspective and bearing in mind the pervasiveness and power of modern mobile platforms, this paper proposes a new approach to NHIE that builds on the notion of consumer-mediated HIE, albeit without the focus on central health record banks. With the growing acceptance of smartphones as reliable, indispensable, and most personal devices, we suggest to leverage the concept of mobile personal health records (PHRs installed on smartphones) to the next level. We envision mPHRs that take the form of distributed storage units for health information, under the full control and direct possession of patients, who can have ready access to their personal data whenever needed. However, for the actual exchange of data with health information systems managed by healthcare providers, the latter have to be interoperable with patient-carried mPHRs. Computer industry has long ago solved a similar problem of interoperability between peripheral devices and operating systems. We borrow from that solution the idea of providing special interfaces between mPHRs and provider systems. This interface enables the two entities to communicate with no change to either end. The design and operation of the proposed approach is explained. Additional pointers on potential implementations are provided, and issues that pertain to any solution to implement NHIE are discussed.

The implications and impact of 3 approaches to health information exchange: community, enterprise, and vendor-mediated health information exchange

INTRODUCTION

Electronic health information exchange (HIE) is considered essential to establishing a learning health system, reducing medical errors, and improving efficiency, but establishment of widespread, high functioning HIE has been challenging. Healthcare organizations now have considerable flexibility in selecting among several HIE strategies, most prominently community HIE, enterprise HIE (led by a healthcare organization), and electronic health record vendor-mediated HIE. Each of these strategies is characterized by different conveners, capabilities, and motivations and may have different abilities to facilitate improved patient care.

METHODS

I reviewed the available scholarly literature to draw conceptual distinctions between these types of HIE, to assess the current evidence on each type of HIE, and to indicate important areas of future research.

RESULTS

While community HIE seems to offer the most open approach to HIE allowing for high levels of connectivity, both enterprise HIE and vendor-mediated HIE face lower barriers to formation and sustainability. Most existing evidence is focused on community HIE and points towards low overall use, challenges to usability, and ambiguous impact. To better guide organizational leaders and policymakers in the expansion of beneficial HIE and anticipate future trends, future research should work to better capture the prevalence of other forms of HIE, and to adopt common methods to allow comparisons of rate of use, usability, and impact on patient care across studies and types of HIE.

CONCLUSIONS

Healthcare organizations' choice of HIE strategy influences the set of partners the organization is connected to and may influence the benefit that efforts supported by HIE can offer to patients. Current research is not fully capturing the diversity of approaches to HIE and their potentially varying impact on providers and patients.

Health Information Exchange in US Hospitals: The Current Landscape and a Path to Improved Information Sharing

Electronic health information exchange (HIE) was a foundational goal of the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, but 7 years later we are far from a nationally interoperable health system. Connected electronic health records have the potential to enable fast access to a wealth of clinical data and can deliver a solution to the highly fragmented US healthcare system. In this review, we present a history and background of HIE, including its potential to deliver significant cost savings to the healthcare system. We examine the key components of HIE, including exchanges, the mechanism, and options available to providers. Health information exchange faces significant challenges, ranging from technical issues to lack of a clear goal, but continued policy initiatives and new technologies represent a promising path to providing clinicians with routine, electronic patient data. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2017;12:193-198.