Healthcare high now – interoperability due to modernization have increased.

Interoperable exchange of health information or “interoperability” is critical for delivering appropriate care, reducing health care costs, and making health care more efficient (1-3). ONC is executing on a number of health IT provisions from the 21st Century Cures Act, such as the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) and Information Blocking provision that seek to advance interoperability (4- 5). As these provisions are implemented, it is important to monitor interoperable information exchange to evaluate present policies and undertake future actions to advance interoperability. This data brief presents the state of interoperability among hospitals, as of 2021. We present trends on information exchange and the availability and use of information at the point of care, while also highlighting key barriers to interoperability. Additionally, we highlight the methods hospitals used to exchange health information and their participation in national networks and health information exchanges (HIEs).

HIGHLIGHTS

• In 2021, more than 6 in 10 hospitals engaged in key aspects of electronically sharing health information (send, receive, query) and integrating of summary of care records into EHRs, a 51 percent increase since 2017.

• Availability and usage of electronic health information received from outside sources at the point of care significantly increased over the last four years, reaching 62 and 71 percent, respectively, in 2021.

• Health Information Service Providers (HISPs) and HIEs were the most common methods used for electronic exchange among hospitals.

• About three-quarters of hospitals participate in health information exchange organizations (HIEs) and about 35 percent participate in both HIEs and national networks.

• In 2021, 39 percent of hospitals reported participating in more than one of four measured national networks.

• Nearly 90 percent of hospitals upgraded their EHRs to 2015 Edition through 2021 and 74 percent of hospitals adopted bulk data export technology.

Hospitals’ engagement in three domains of interoperability (receive, find, and integrate) significantly increased since 2017.

FINDINGS

• About 80 percent of hospitals electronically queried or found any patient health information in 2021.

• Since 2017, rates of integrating summary of care records demonstrated the largest improvements (21 percentage points) followed by finding information (19 percentage points).

• The percent of hospitals that engaged in all aspects of exchange (send, receive, query) and integrating of summary of care records into EHRs increased by 51 percent from 2017-2021.