Health Information Exchanges
What's an HIE?
Health information exchange (“HIE”) is defined as the mobilization of healthcare information electronically across organizations within a region or community.
HIE provides the capability to electronically move clinical information between disparate healthcare information systems while maintaining the meaning of the information being exchanged. The goal of HIE is to facilitate access to and retrieval of clinical data to provide safer, more timely, efficient, effective, equitable, patient-centered care.
Formal organizations are now emerging to provide both form and function for health information exchange efforts. These organizations (often called “Regional Health Information Organizations”, or “RHIOs”) are ordinarily geographically-defined entities which develop and manage a set of contractual conventions and terms, arrange for the means of electronic exchange of information, and develop and maintain HIE standards.
Although HIE initiatives differ in many ways, survey results and our (eHealth Initiative) experiences with states, regions and communities indicate that those who are experiencing the most success share the following characteristics. They are:
- Governed by a diverse and broad set of community stakeholders;
- Develop and assure adherence to a common set of principles and standards for the technical and policy aspects of information sharing, addressing the needs of every stakeholder;
- Develop and implement a technical infrastructure based on national standards to facilitate interoperability;
- Develop and maintain a model for sustainability that aligns the costs with the benefits related to HIE; and
- Use metrics to measure performance from the perspective of: patient care, public health, provider value, and economic value.
Source: eHealth Initiative, Second Annual Survey of State, Regional and Community-based Health Information Exchange Initiatives and Organizations, August, 2005
