State-level health information exchanges likely will need to adjust their business models as the health care system transitions from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursement models,
Report Details
HIMSS released the report during this week's HIMSS Government Health IT Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. (Terry, FierceHealthIT, 6/12).
The report noted that as demands for coordinated care, telehealth services, and quality and payment analytics increase, state health data exchanges might need to shift from "facilitator[s] of sharing" information to "data aggregator[s] and analyzer[s]" (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 6/12).
Recommendations
To advance health IT and health data exchange initiatives, the report recommends that states:
- Ensure that health IT remains on both state and federal agendas as a bipartisan policy objective;
- Partner with regional extension centers, Beacon communities, health care professional associations and other organizations to advance health IT;
- Promote the idea that widespread health IT adoption is necessary to support the goals of the federal health reform law;
- Work closely with federal agencies "to ensure the value of state-level HIEs and funding sources are aligned to ensure success;" and
- Undertake efforts to improve health literacy (FierceHealthIT, 6/12).