The influx of clinical data generated by PACS and electronic medical records has fueled the expansion of health information exchange among physicians. However, recent surveys conducted by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT indicate that hospitals are ahead of office-based doctors on HIE.
Modern Healthcare reported that the percentage of non-government hospitals that participated in the electronic exchange of lab test results, radiology reports, care summaries or medication lists with other facilities rose from 41 percent in 2008 to 62 percent in 2013. The survey findings were presented at the Health IT Policy Committee on Aug. 20, 2014, by Vaishali Patel, Ph.D., a senior adviser to the ONC's Office of Planning, Evaluation and Analysis.
In comparison, however, only 39 percent of responding physicians engaged in HIE with other providers in 2013, and merely 14 percent did so with doctors outside of their organization. Just 5 percent exchanged data with outside hospitals, as well.
"The data show there is growth, but there is substantial room for improvement," said Patel, quoted by the news source.
The ONC survey aimed to measure progress with the stages of Meaningful Use as many health care providers shift from stage 1 to stage 2. The latter focuses more on HIE and the interoperability of health IT systems, like EMRs and PACS.
Medical imaging software to fuel growth
Healthcare IT News explained that findings from Frost & Sullivan, a California-based market research firm, showed that the PACS market is expected to grow to $168.2 million in 2018. This indicates a significant increase from revenues of $77.4 million in 2011.
The increased volumes of imaging data correlate to the expansion of the PACS market and growth of HIE adoption among hospitals. With more diagnostic radiology equipment being purchased at facilities, the complexity of managing information rises. Because of this, both PACS and vendor neutral archives are becoming more commonplace at imaging enterprises.
Providers who want to engage in successful HIE need to consider the state of their current PACS. To enhance the coordination of care, radiologists and other physicians need to be able to freely share medical data with one another to ensure that patients are properly treated. When information is exchanged, hospitals can save money typically wasted on repeated exams, and patients are protected from the potential harms of radiation exposure.
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Ronny Bachrach
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