The Association Between State-Level Health Information Exchange Laws and Hospital Participation in Community Health Information Organizations

• Published in: AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings Vol. 2018; pp. 313 - 320
• Main Authors: Brown-Podgorski, Brittany L, Hilts, Katy Ellis, Kash, Bita A, Schmit, Cason D, Vest, Joshua R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Medical Informatics Association 2018
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Community Networks; Community-Institutional Relations; Cross-Sectional Studies; Health Information Exchange - legislation & jurisprudence; Hospital Administration; Hospital Bed Capacity; Informed Consent - legislation & jurisprudence; Legislation, Hospital; Reimbursement, Incentive; State Government; United States; United States
• ISSN: 1559-4076

Evidence suggests that health information exchange (HIE) is an effective strategy to improve efficiency and quality of care, as well as reduce costs. A complex patchwork of federal and state legislation has developed over time to encourage HIE activity. Hospitals and health systems have adopted various HIE models to meet the requirements of these statutes and regulations. Given the complexity of HIE laws, it is important to understand how these legal levers influence HIE engagement. We combined data from two unique data sources to examine the association between state-level HIE laws and hospital engagement in community HIEs. Our results identified three legal provisions of state laws (HIE authorization, financial & non-financial incentives, opt-out consent) that increased the likelihood of community HIE engagement. Other provisions decreased the likelihood of engagement. This analysis provides foundational evidence about the utility of HIE laws. More research is needed to determine causal relationships.