A staggering 74 percent of health information exchange programs are struggling to create a sustainable business model, according to a survey published in Health Affairs.
Researchers identified 119 operational HIEs across the country, up 61 percent since 2010. However, many reported financial trouble, and several have shut down when grants or other sources of funding ran out.
"The healthcare providers are not willing to pay for the service at the level needed," said lead author Julia Adler-Milstein, PhD, of the University of Michigan, in a news release.
"They don't see enough value, and that's because much of it doesn't accrue to them. It goes to patients and to health insurance companies. The central challenge is that the incentives and the business model are not aligned yet for this to really work," she said.
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