Study: Number of HIEs going online up about 40 percent since 2008

Health information exchanges seemed to be floundering for a while, but now they're picking up momentum, if a new survey is any indication.

The number of HIEs that report being operational and exchanging data has jumped almost 40 percent since 2008, according to the eHealth Initiative's Sixth Annual Survey of Health Information Exchange. This is probably due to ongoing efforts in this arena, but also because of the big rewards promised by the new stimulus law, which has set aside at least $300 million to support HIEs in 2009 and 2010.

In the survey, a total of 57 HIE initiatives reported being operational, up from 42 in 2008, and 40 reported generating cost savings from data sharing. Sources of savings included spending less staff time on handling lab and radiology results, less time on clerical efforts, less money on redundant testing, lower spending on chronic care and fewer medication errors.

Participating in HIEs also seems to have helped medical practices, helping doctors access test results and other patient information more easily without disrupting care, and ultimately allowing them to get home sooner.

To get more background from the survey:
- read this Healthcare IT News piece

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