Three Ways Health Information Exchanges Have Ushered in a New Era by Evolving Their Business Models

HIEs of today are naturally more technologically advanced than their predecessors as a result of cloud-based services, mobile health apps, and more widespread broadband connectivity. But more importantly, HIEs have changed their approach to creating value for their members, broadening the services they provide and the members they serve.

Some important aspects of HIEs’ new approach have included a greater focus on delivering high-quality clinical data, assisting users with quality improvement and reporting, clinical decision-making, and population health analytics.

While early HIEs concentrated on provider data-sharing, they have broadened their services to include analytics that help providers create population health dashboards and quality reporting. As opposed to delivering a view of an individual patient, these analytics enable providers to visualize their patients in aggregate—helping them determine, for example, which patients may need more preventive care, and which are over-utilizing emergency services.