Health Affairs

Posting date: January 19, 2005

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Health Affairs, 10.1377/hlthaff.w5.10
Copyright © 2005 by Project HOPE

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The Value Of Health Care Information Exchange And Interoperability

Jan Walker ^1*, Eric Pan ², Douglas Johnston ³, Julia Adler-Milstein ⁴, David W. Bates ⁵, Blackford Middleton ⁶

¹ Jan Walker is executive director of the Center for Information Technology Leadership, Partners HealthCare System, in Boston, Massachusetts.
² Eric Pan is an associate fellowship director and a senior analyst at the Center for Information Technology Leadership, Partners HealthCare System.
³ Douglas Johnston is a senior analyst at the Center for Information Technology Leadership, Partners HealthCare System.
⁴ Julia Adler-Milstein is a research analyst at the Center for Information Technology Leadership, Partners HealthCare System.
⁵ David Bates is a member of the executive committee at the Center for Information Technology Leadership, Partners HealthCare System, and is chief of the Department of General Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston) and director, clinical and quality analysis, Partners HealthCare System.
⁶ Blackford Middleton is chairman of the executive committee at the Center for Information Technology Leadership, Partners HealthCare System, and is corporate director, clinical informatics research and development, at Partners.

^*Corresponding author.

Abstract

In this paper we assess the value of electronic health care information exchange and interoperability (HIEI) between providers (hospitals and medical group practices) and independent laboratories, radiology centers, pharmacies, payers, public health departments, and other providers. We have created an HIEI taxonomy and combined published evidence with expert opinion in a cost-benefit model. Fully standardized HIEI could yield a net value of $77.8 billion per year once fully implemented. Nonstandardized HIEI offers smaller positive financial returns. The clinical impact of HIEI for which quantitative estimates cannot yet be made would likely add further value. A compelling business case exists for national implementation of fully standardized HIEI.

Key Words: Business Of Health, Consumer Issues, Health Reform, Internet And Health, Quality Of Care, Research And Technology

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