Regulation of Health Information Exchange is Necessary

Health information exchanges recently faced some dissension as individual patient info is being passed around. Though it is easy to fault these types of exchange programs, there are much deeper concerns that really need to be solved to employ HIE optimally. As outlined by an InformationWeek.com report, a universally identified HIE ought to be formulated in order to make this process less risky. Typical issues with the health information exchange process consist of ambiguous technical standards, lack of confidence in the individuals and also inadequate planning on the financial front.

'Meaningful Use' incentive checks

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) make it imperative for hospitals along with private medical practices to engage in health information exchange services. These types of health related organizations are required to obtain incentive checks known as Meaningful Use. Additionally, failure to observe the requirement can lead to penalization. One distinctive rule states that service providers taking part in the health information exchange program has to do so through electronic media. Together with testing these hospitals, this rule indirectly makes certain that the service providers have the capacity to transmit such confidential information to anyone outside the institution.

During the subsequent phases of the arrangement, these hospitals will be required to publish this confidential data. Some hospitals as well as groups of physicians object to distributing sensitive info because they are uncomfortable about revealing the demographics of patients. Sharing such information and facts will also reveal the disease components as well as patient numbers, which will hurt their share of the market. Sending out personal patient specifics also can give competitors an unfair advantage as they are able to target the clients. Besides the deficit of cooperation from a great number of hospitals, the information exchange program also falls short in some other areas.

Overcoming technical snags

These days there aren't any universally approved specifications on the technical aspect of health information exchange. Crucial data like patient summaries are frequently encoded in CCD (Continuity of Care Document) that use XML standards while other companies choose to encode their summaries in CCR (Continuity of Care Record) that uses HL7. While both techniques are feasible, a standardized data format will go a long way in maintaining information effectively. Additionally it is tricky to convert CCD files to CCR which would cause much more confusion. Adopting a universal file format for each HIE could make filing, analyzing and also assessing the information far easier. To relieve the predicament, xml classes for members of HIE programs can be valuable.

Other problems with the model

Several HIEs are plagued with financial problems and frequently implement a subscription fee system to remain operating. Health information exchange programs also receive help from insurance firms which can end up helping both parties. As insurance firms are part stakeholders in the HIE program, there're able to avoid unnecessary medical costs. When service providers can access reliable and comprehensive patient files from these HIEs, errors in diagnoses and also treatments can be cut down tremendously. Several insurance firms are now discovering the many benefits of investing in an HIE program. Insurers are now willing to invest millions of dollars to assist specialists, hospitals and HIEs across the country to build an integrated clinical support system among health professionals.