States' capabilities to share patient data vary greatly

According to a Brookings Institution study, the development of state health information exchanges has been slowed by governance, financing and policy issues.

Modern Healthcare: Brookings Report: Barriers Limit State Health Information Exchanges
The current governance, financing and policy barriers limit state health information exchanges from reaching their full potential, the Brookings Institution said in a report. The authors found that state exchanges have been successful in "establishing organizational frameworks, building technology-based connections and bringing relevant groups to the table for discussion," according to the Feb. 8 report (Lee, 2/8).

CQ HealthBeat: Electronic Health Information Exchange Poised For Major Growth, Experts Say
While progress has been slow on sharing patient health information electronically, experts said Wednesday that new payment and service delivery models could drive rapid adoption in the next several years. "We want to see exchanges take off this year," said Claudia Williams, director of the State Health Information Exchange for the Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (Bristol, 2/8).

The Hill: Report Draws Lessons Of States' Experience With Sharing Health Information
The report looked at five states -; Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, Tennessee and California -; that have created state-level health information exchanges. ... For the exchanges to be effective, the report concludes, "policymakers must present a clear vision, achieve consensus on key objectives, overcome organizational and market fragmentation, and work effectively with a range of different constituencies" (Pecquet, 2/8).