Physician Groups Warming Up to HIEs

Both reports together show EMRs and HIEs gaining ground, due, in no doubt, to meaningful use requirements and industry changes. Michael Barr, MD, Senior Vice President of the Division of Medical Practice, Professionalism and Quality for the American College of Physicians, is on the advisory board of Doctors Helping Doctors.

He says the secure movement and availability of patient data is increasingly important because of the focus on population health management.

"New models of care, such as the patient-centered medical home and the medical home neighborhood are based upon building teams inclusive of patients, families and caregivers, and the success of these new models will depend on health IT infrastructure that supports seamless coordination of care, patient engagement, and clinical information. You can't do team-based care unless everyone has access appropriately."

The survey that Barr's group analyzed showed the top three barriers to sharing information electronically, according to physicians were:

• Lack of interoperability among other systems
• Lack of information exchange infrastructure
• Cost of setting up and maintaining interfaces