Challenging HIT Vendors To Contribute Solutions

Rupinder Colby | HITECH Answers | January 22, 2014

In 2010 the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) awarded states through a Health Information Exchange (HIE) program that promotes the secure exchange of health information within and across states. This federal support spurred the creation of state and regionally based exchanges. The result has been HIE 1.0. Today’s environment largely consists of providers within a community that share patient information by pushing and pulling episodic data—mainly leveraging Continuity of Care Documents (CCD). Unfortunately, the first generation of exchanges are not prepared to meet healthcare’s long term needs and the time is now for HIE 2.0.

HIE 2.0 can be defined in two ways. First it’s the transition from a single hub and spoke model to a network of networks. Under this definition, HIE 2.0 connects multiple community or regional networks allowing them to engage one another across geographies and states through national standards. The second definition is centered on the capability a HIE enables. HIE 2.0, under this definition, supports true delivery system improvement, superior care coordination, enhanced efficiency, data integration and analysis, financial risk management and true potential for cost savings. This blog examines the latter definition of HIE 2.0.