Providers Lag Behind Payers, Pharma on Data Exchange

The survey found that for now, 69 percent of providers are exchanging no data, versus 53 percent of health insurers and 51 percent of pharma/life sciences companies.

Informatics staffs needed for new product development or business models are bogged down in other tasks, such as medical loss ratios, meaningful use, and converting to ICD-10, the report says. "Non-compliance is going to put you out of business faster than new initiatives will generate business," one health insurer executive told PwC.

Although 60 percent of respondents say they are effectively performing clinical data capture and sharing, only one-quarter of provider respondents believe they are effectively integrating and aggregating clinical data, measuring it, and delivering actionable information to the point of care, the report says. These components are likely components of later stages of meaningful use.

Barriers to Clinical Data Capture
Major organizational barriers identified by providers included prioritizing tasks (58%), aligning clinical and technology teams (50%), preventing information overload (44%), data being kept in silos throughout the organization (43%) and inadequate funding (43%).

The report recommends giving CIOs strategic decision-making authority, reassessing the CMIO's role, developing a framework for prioritizing projects, and demonstrating to governing boards how informatics aligns with quality improvement initiatives.