Whether it is related to electronic health records, accountable care, medical homes, meaningful use, or other initiatives to improve patient safety and quality, a healthcare organization's ability to succeed—or fend off competition—depends on its ability to effectively exchange health information within the organization, with outside groups such as physician offices and payers, and with Health Information Exchanges.
To gain a clearer view of the healthcare community's readiness to successfully implement the exchange of health information, ECRI Institute (www.ecri.org), an independent nonprofit and expert in interoperability, is conducting a brief electronic survey, 10 Key Readiness Indicators for Exchange of Health Information.
Along with strategic partner, s2a, experts in the development and implementation of local, regional, and statewide health information exchanges, ECRI Institute developed the list of 10 Key Indicators—critical issues representative of an organization's readiness to exchange vital health information.
For example, indicators in the survey address issues such as whether your organization:
- Routinely receives laboratory results electronically from your clinical information system
- Prioritizes the clinical conditions that require the electronic exchange of health information
- Utilizes IT systems to analyze and manage the population health information
"Healthcare information exchange is a critical capability, key to many new business models evolving," says Thomas E. Skorup, MBA, FACHE, Vice President, Applied Solutions, ECRI Institute. "The ten key indicators we identified will be useful in helping hospital leaders assess their progress and prioritize important initiatives to achieve their goals."
Healthcare leaders are encouraged to complete the 10-question survey to help them understand their own readiness and also contribute useful data to determine readiness on a national level. ECRI Institute will publish the aggregated survey results in early summer.
"The ability of healthcare organizations to leverage the exchange of health information within their organization and across a community begins with interoperability and results in improved decision making across the continuum," says John K. Evans, MHA, FACHE, President, s2a. "The ultimate goal is the ability to assume increased accountability for the care delivered," adds Evans.
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