FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 4, 2006
Contact: Richard Deutsch
Phone: 202-261-7573

Health Information Exchange Initiatives Advance with Support from Quality Improvement Organizations

Study Shows QIOs Serve as Key Partners in More Than 40 States

Washington, D.C. – Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) are accelerating the formation of Health Information Exchange (HIE) initiatives nationwide. That’s the key finding of a report made public today by the American Health Quality Foundation, the educational arm of the American Health Quality Association, which represents the nation’s network of QIOs. The report, prepared with assistance from the eHealth Initiative, was given to congressional staff in March.

The report, Quality Improvement Organizations and Health Information Exchange, concludes that as communities prepare to launch HIE networks, they benefit from the participation of their local QIO early in the developmental process.

QIOs are private organizations that work under contract to Medicare to encourage the adoption of best practices that increase the safety and effectiveness of health care. In the current Medicare contract cycle (2005-2008,) QIOs are funded to help 5 percent of the nation’s adult primary care practices adopt and use health information technology to deliver better care.

In addition to working with individual office practices, the report finds that QIOs in 41 states and the Virgin Islands are currently supporting local, regional and statewide initiatives to develop health information exchange networks. In many states, QIOs are convening stakeholders and helping communities reach consensus on the goals, operation, and funding of HIE initiatives.

The report defines health information exchange as the ability to electronically move clinical information between points of care in a community or a region. As more and more doctors and hospitals use electronic medical records and other forms of health information technology, the potential benefits of implementing HIE are growing quickly.

“On average, a Medicare beneficiary sees seven different physicians each year and purchases 20 or more different prescriptions. Having operational health information exchange in your community means emergency room physicians have immediate access to critical medical records, doctors can quickly access test results, and coordination of care improves across settings and among doctors,” said Christine Bechtel, one of the authors of the report and Director of Government Affairs at AHQA.

A recent eHealth Initiative survey of over 100 state, regional and community-based initiatives shows HIE development on the rise nationwide. Twenty five communities reported having fully operational HIE systems, 40 communities are in the implementation phase and dozens more are exploring how to get started.

“The benefits of establishing viable HIE are obvious,” Bechtel notes, “But how to do it is not. Communities face enormous challenges securing upfront funding, creating a sustainable business model, and helping health providers adopt HIT to connect with each other. QIOs are in the forefront of helping their communities make progress in these areas.”

The report points out that there are a number of key activities common to the successful development and operation of health information exchange capabilities—and it notes that QIOs are leading or contributing to many of these efforts:

• All QIOs (50 states, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, DC) are laying the groundwork for HIE by accelerating physician adoption of health information technology and supporting care process and workflow redesign to take advantage of HIT.
• 42 of the nation’s QIOs are engaging and convening stakeholders across health care settings to build awareness of the importance and benefits of HIE.
• 37 QIOs are working in their states and communities to achieve consensus on priorities, goals, and functions of HIE initiatives.
• 22 QIOs are actively involved in governance and organization of HIE initiatives.
• 10 QIOs are helping develop and implement sustainable business plans for HIE networks.
• 10 QIOs are contributing to the development of information sharing policies for HIE in their communities.
• 10 QIOs are participating in the technical design of HIE architecture. QIOs also anticipate helping physicians understand the interoperability requirements for local HIE networks.

Quality Improvement Organizations and Health Information Exchange—which provides a state by state overview of HIE initiatives and QIO efforts—is available online at www.ahqa.org.

The American Health Quality Association is dedicated to improving the safety and effectiveness of health care. AHQA represents the national network of Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) that work with hospitals, medical practices, health plans, long-term care facilities, home health agencies, and employers to encourage the spread of best clinical practices and improve systems of care delivery.