Welcome to the January-February edition of InterConnect, MobileMD's e-Newsletter.
Are HIEs Really Catching On?
Todd Fisher
CEO, MobileMD
I, thus, find myself in a difficult position. I don't want to deride KLAS, because their reputation in the market for research is highly regarded and their service and reports are regularly used to inform procurement decisions by prospective clients, often with outstanding outcomes. On the other hand, I can't help but feel concern that this particular article, and those that have chosen to write similarly on the topic without much, if any, additional source material, have cast a pall on the HIE industry — just as additional grant funds and investment start to flow into the sector.
I am certain KLAS and Healthcare IT News would agree without hesitation that improved clinical information flow, enhanced clinical data access, increased interoperability of systems, and the overall innovative modernization of healthcare IT collectively serve as information technology's contribution to improved patient care and reduced healthcare costs.
So, with those thoughts in mind, I'd like to point out to our readers that while the Healthcare IT News article may render to the shadows of questionability the prevalence, success, and value of HIEs offered by many vendors in the market, using MobileMD as a benchmark, I can say unequivocally that HIEs do exist, have been successful, and are considerably valuable to those that choose to proceed with HIE deployment.
For example, using KLAS' definition of an HIE as "acute-to-ambulatory HIEs, where at least one hospital or health system is sharing data with a clinic, lab or other ambulatory facility," I encourage readers of this letter to review the article found at the URL above and compare those numbers to MobileMD's production numbers:
- 15 separate production HIEs processing every type of clinical data
- Growing rapidly with 20 or more anticipated production HIEs by summer 2010
Representing deep community penetration and thus appropriately leveraged HIEs... - Approximately 750 ambulatory practices subscribing and participation is growing rapidly
- Over 3000 physicians subscribing and participation is growing rapidly
- Over 10,000 end users subscribing and participation is growing rapidly
In my experience, when on the leading edge of a movement, which by definition is continuously evolving, many vendors will suggest that they provide technology and services at a level or in volumes greater than reality would indicate. They wish to get the proverbial marketing horse ahead of the implementation cart. That said, HIEs have been successful, do exist in a broader sense than suggested by the Healthcare IT News article, and have proven exceptionally valuable to those that have seen the potential and seized the opportunity. In short, MobileMD's client list is representative of what can be.
Todd J. Fisher
CEO, MobileMD
tfisher@mobileMD.com