It Seems Consumers Will Opt In And Consent To Health Information Exchange When It Offers Value!

This appeared last week:

Western New York HIE reaches 1 million patient consents

By Greg Slabodkin

Published October 10 2017, 6:36am EDT

HEALTHeLINK, the clinical information exchange connecting hospitals, physicians, and payers in Western New York, has secured more than 1 million uniquely consented patients.

According to Dan Porreca, executive director of HEALTHeLINK, this achievement represents a significant community milestone for the eight counties the HIE serves, as it continues to improve quality of care, patient safety, while reducing healthcare costs by eliminating redundant tests.

“It is the doctors, practices and hospitals that capture the patient consents, so they can get access to the information,” says Porreca, noting that New York is an opt-in state for patients wanting to share their data with HIEs. But, he contends it is patients that “hold the key” to enabling their treating providers to have a “more complete picture of their medical record.”

Of HEALTHeLINK’s more than 1 million uniquely consented patients, about 95 percent of those who consent authorize their health information—including diagnostic images, lab reports, and medication history—to be securely shared among treating providers at the point of care.

“Early on, we were contemplating ways that we could capture consents without putting a burden on provider organizations. We tried a lot of different things but at the end of day patient trust is the highest with their doctors,” adds Porreca. “The vast majority of those consents take place in doctors’ offices and hospitals throughout the community.”

Currently, all of Western New York’s hospitals and 87 percent of physician practices participate in the not-for-profit HIE, which holds more than 206 million records and continues to bring on data sources.

“We’re very fortune in Western New York to have that level of collaboration amongst those competitors—and, in some cases adversaries when you get into negotiations,” says Porreca. “However, when they sit around our board table, it’s a collaborative process.”

More here:

https://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/western-new-york-hie-reaches-1-million-patient-consents

It seems that when both the docs and the patient see value people will consent and use health information exchange. There might be a lesson here?

David.