A new podcast from the AMA and HIMSS gives physicians a peek at some of the benefits, challenges and requirements of participating in a health information exchange (HIE).
In the podcast (No. 5 in HIMSS’ ongoing HIE series), presenters explain that such technology can make a real difference for patient care, giving physicians access to patients’ health care information even when they receive that care outside of the physician’s organization.
“Our health information exchange is a complete longitudinal record of each patient’s encounters with the medical system,” Joseph Heyman, MD, said in the podcast. Dr. Heyman is a former chair of the AMA Board of Trustees and founder of an independent practice association that created an HIE in Massachusetts.
“Patients are in the community, they’re really not in a network,” Dr. Heyman said. “So this gives every doctor the advantage of seeing everything that’s happened to that patient.”
HIEs bring together health care stakeholders within a defined geographic area and govern electronic sharing of health information among these stakeholders in order to improve health and care in that community.
This information-sharing enables physicians to provide higher quality and more efficient care, Dr. Heyman explained.
In addition to facilitating better coordinated care for their patients, participating in an HIE also can help physicians in small practices with limited resources.
“We really try to make it easy to participate and bring value,” Dan Paoletti, director of Ohio’s state-designed HIE, said in the podcast.
Paoletti said the Ohio HIE is inexpensive and easy to incorporate into the practice, helping physicians stay independent and competitive and enabling better communication with payers and other health care professionals or facilities.
The podcast also explains some of the logistics physicians might consider for participating in an HIE.
Newly updated resources from the AMA also explain possible risk and other considerations for physicians who are thinking about becoming more connected using this technology.
