Post date: Dec 23, 2010 6:48:53 AM
When looking at the business case for a health information exchange, the population that might benefit and the cost to provide such a benefit must be considered. How often does someone on a cross-country vacation get sick and need access to their medical records? After all, much of the population in the US has never left their city. The study by Bourgeois et al (2010) published in the Archives of Internal Medicine begin what they call "Quantifying Information Fragmentation".
The most striking observation: mental disorders (15.5%) and other psychoses (6.3%) accounted for 21.8% of repeat visits to more than 5 sites of care and these patients had much higher ED and hospitalization charges. If these findings in Massachusetts are indicative of nationwide trends, the data suggests prioritizing electronic record upkeeping and sharing for patients more likely to end up at different facilities.
Reference:
Bourgeois, FC, Olson, KL & Mandl, KD 2010, 'Patients Treated at Multiple Acute Health Care Facilities: Quantifying Information Fragmentation', Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 170, no. 22, pp. 1989-95.