Collaboration and Communication Key to Health Information Sharing Success

A recent article from Healthcare IT News, citing a poll of hospital and health system business leaders, found that 71 percent are more than halfway complete with their EHR adoption.

While this seems like promising news, only 48 percent of those polled believed that they are ready to meet initial Stage 1 Meaningful Use requirements.

“Industry leaders’ lack of confidence in their ability to integrate electronic health information throughout an enterprise is a concern as the healthcare industry moves toward creation of a nationwide health information network,” according to the article’s author, Gary Palgon.

Palgon asserts that many organizations that have adopted EHRs are not fully utilizing their systems and he recommends the use of e-prescription, e-lab, and e-radiology systems to collect information as a part of the EHR. This, he states, will “eliminate the data silos that typically exist.”

Palgon mentions that collaboration is key to success. “Once an organization can communicate seamlessly within its own four walls, the groundwork is set to share information with entities outside those walls.”