Kansas Health IT officials get first big test; Utah faces digital incompatibility

The state hospital association has asked the Kansas Information Exchange to probe pricing structures of electronic health record vendors, the Kansas Health Institute News reports. Meanwhile, in Utah, some analysts are raising concerns that doctors and hospitals have already signed up with computerized systems that may not work together, the Salt Lake Tribune writes.

Kansas Health Institute News: Kansas HIE Officials Will Meet With System Vendors
The Kansas Hospital Association asked KHIE, Inc. to investigate pricing structures of electronic health record vendors and take whatever measures it could to encourage more transparency. The KHIE, Inc. board is responsible for overseeing electronic health information exchanges in the state, enforcing privacy and security of patient health records and otherwise regulating how exchanges operate in Kansas (Cauthon, 7/27). 

The Salt Lake Tribune: Utah's Medical Data Highway Still Dealing With Hurdles
The "wiredness" of Utah's doctors and hospitals may be more of a hindrance than a help to architects of a statewide health data exchange, a conduit that one day will enable a doctor in Moab to push vital patient information to an emergency room in Salt Lake City. Health information exchanges are in various stages of development in every state, a growing IT infrastructure fueled by billions in federal funding and a belief that data can improve health care and lower costs. ... But ... many providers are locked into working with e-health vendors with incompatible systems, said Jan Root, president and CEO of the nonprofit that's building the cHIE, the Utah Health Information Network (UHIN) (Stewart, 7/27).