What Are The Pros And Cons Of Health Information Exchange (HIE?

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RHIOs and the HIE Health Information Exchange (HIE) was introduced by President Bush in 2004 (Kruse, Regier & Rheinboldt, 2014) so it is not a new concept. HIE is instrumental in gaining overall population health as it can lead to a reduction in healthcare costs, increase patient safety, and increase health outcomes. Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) are a conglomerate of healthcare providers and patients in a region that exchange healthcare information with the goal of delivering quality care to the individuals they serve. This paper will discuss the pros and cons of RHIOs, key challenges in gaining long term viability, and provide ways in which capital is raised to support HIE. Pros and Cons of RHIOs Healthcare …show more content…

Pharmacy is highly regulated and must of the data is already in electronic form, data review is much easier. Reviewing the drugs that are being administered and possibly steering usage away from high cost brand drugs to lower cost generic drugs can lead to a reduction in costs without a decrease in health outcome. Simply stated, health outcomes are improved when a healthcare provider has a complete access to all records for the patient and when those records are enhanced with information such as drug interactions and dosing calculation among other things, patient safety can also be improved (AHA, …show more content…

Because the use of HIE is for the ‘greater good’ of the population, it could be supported through taxes or other local assessments. However, increasing taxes, in any amount, is a politically heated topic and may be a hard sale to constituents. Brokerage Fee Model The brokerage fee model utilizes a third party to offer services through the HIE network. Here the third party could develop an application that is beneficial to an organization. Part of the fee collected for use of the application would be passed on to the HIE as an additional revenue stream. Conclusion While health outcomes could increase with the implementation of HIE and RHIOs, implementing such programs are not easy. The financial burden to take on such a task may be more than some organizations want to take on, however, with healthcare reform it is inevitable that all organizations must increase health outcomes and reduce costs. A well planned HIE and RHIO just may be the way to population

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