Another hot topic at this year’s HIMSS conference is Health Information Exchange. With the advent of healthcare reform and the passage of the American Recovery and Reimbursement Act (ARRA), healthcare systems and state and local government agencies are being confronted on how to exchange health information to those who can impact the delivery of care while empowering those who receive that care. We also know that stimulus dollars are currently being provided to incent healthcare organizations to store and exchange clinical information via a digital electronic health information highway. Whether you are a state or local government, public health organization or a healthcare system, the exchange of clinical information will be critical to meet both regulatory and business viability in the future.
Many Healthcare systems are finding themselves in an ever increasing competitive environment. The pressure of reducing reimbursements, aligning more effectively with the affiliated physicians and being relevant to the patient population are just a few of the challenges. In addition, with the advent of healthcare reform, the potential changing reimbursement models and the emerging Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are creating an environment where clinical and cost information are needed to empower and engage those that are part of your overall healthcare system deliver model.
But healthcare systems should not be the only ones considering how to exchange and consumer clinical information. If you are a state of local government agency, you too need to recognize how a Health Information Exchange (HIE) can be an important part of establishing partnerships with the citizens and healthcare systems within your geographic area. In addition, the empowering the public health agencies for that area can help drive more effective disease management programs and the associated healthcare services to those target areas for most effective results. By establishing such an environment, a state or local government can obtain federal stimulus dollars over the next three to five years and establish an environment to protect against the impending reimbursement reductions to those healthcare providers who do not have such a public exchange network.
We would love to meet you and discuss how Perficient’s healthcare practice and solutions can assist your organization. It you are interested in learning more about how to become a more viable and world-class healthcare system, please visit us at our HIMSS Booth No. 3681. You can also view Perficient white papers on Enterprise Health Information Exchange.
