Given the still-faltering presence of interoperability, industry leaders are wondering whether the HITECH Act's investment of more than $26 billion into health IT initiatives since 2009 was worth it.
A policy brief in Health Affairs delves into this question and the issues of interoperability and ease of data exchange in the healthcare industry.
While EHR adoption has significantly risen since 2009, the level of electronic information sharing has not shared the same level of growth, according to the policy brief. Significant barriers to improved information exchanges include a lack of a business case for sharing information, associated exchange costs and a lack of standards adoption, according to the policy brief.
"Innovative strategies associated with care delivery, payment and engagement of individuals are rapidly emerging to address these challenges, but such strategies must rely on information sharing across the healthcare system to be successful," according to the policy brief.
It would be overly dismissive to say the $26 billion investment wasn't worth it, but the article suggests the industry still has some preliminary steps to take and improve the interoperability of the electronic healthcare landscape to really see the largest return on investment, both in terms of dollars and lives.
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