Including a health information exchange query for every patient encounter in a emergency department setting could significantly reduce the number of tests and examinations ordered in hospitals and reduce costs, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
Here are two key findings from the paper.
• Efficient HIE usage was associated with a 52 percent reduction in the total number of laboratory tests per patient order in the emergency department.
• It was also associated with a 36 percent reduction in the number of radiology examinations ordered per emergency department patient.