The financial burden of health information exchange (HIE) and the difficulty of wrangling multiple vendors into some sense of interoperability are among the top challenges facing the national health IT infrastructure and the shift towards population health management, according to the eHealth Initiative’s 2014 survey. While Stage 2 of meaningful use has pushed the industry towards wider adoption of Direct messaging and registry reporting, providers have a long road to travel before data exchange becomes simple and seamless across the care continuum.
Health IT offers the opportunity to expand upon the patient-centered medical home, according to a report from the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative.
Though many providers are working closely with other medical providers, they should include a wider range of partners including schools, employers, public health agencies and faith-based organizations to improve health in their "medical neighborhood," the report argues.
While the patient-centered medical home has been touted as the foundation for a better coordinated and more efficient healthcare system, experts now say medical home practices need to be connected to other parts of the healthcare system. To this end, the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative has released a report listing 10 “essential” health information technology tools needed to make these population health connections.
