State government leaders, Medicaid agencies, hospital and physician associations, and other entities are formulating strategies for tapping federal stimulus money to create interoperable health information exchanges (HIEs).
Their goal is to share patient data between healthcare stakeholders in order to improve decision-making when and where medical care is delivered -- increasing quality and patient safety while reducing the overall costs of care.
To support these efforts, Thomson Reuters is delivering a comprehensive HIE technology platform embedded with sophisticated analytics that will enable a new generation of "meaningful use" applications.
"Five years from now, when dozens of new HIEs are sharing data between diverse electronic medical record (EMR) systems, laboratories, pharmacies, and other sources, will physicians be using this information to make better decisions?" asked Jerry Osheroff, M.D., chief clinical informatics officer for Thomson Reuters.
"Will hospitals and ambulatory practices reduce costs through IT efficiencies? Will the organizations that pay for healthcare -- from Medicare to public and private employers -- see healthcare costs controlled and quality improved?
"At Thomson Reuters, we believe the answers will depend on whether these HIEs are wed to advanced analytic capabilities -- allowing the data they carry to be transformed into meaningful, valuable information."
To that end, the company's solution features: