U.S. doctors high on electronic information sharing.

• Position: HEALTH RECORDS

The final rules for stage 2 of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs (also known as the Meaningful Use Program) go into effect in October 2013 for hospitals and January 14, 2014, for practitioners. Stage 2 contains requirements intended to facilitate electronic sharing of health information to support transitions in care.

An October 2012 report on a survey conducted by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) and analyzed by Doctors Helping Doctors Transform Health Care, more than 80% of clinicians surveyed "believe that the electronic exchange of health information across care settings will have a positive impact on improving the quality of patient care, as well as the ability to coordinate care, meet the demands of new care models, and participate in third-party reporting and incentive programs."

The report, "Clinician Perspectives on Electronic Health Information Sharing for Transitions of Care," also shows that more than half (57%) of the respondents believe the electronic exchange of information will actually reduce healthcare costs.

There are some serious obstacles, however, that must first be overcome. Most of the physicians (71%) surveyed consider the lack of interoperability and an exchange infrastructure-and the cost associated with implementing and maintaining that infrastructure a major barrier to electronic information sharing.

Stage 2 of Meaningful Use attempts to address these concerns by including requirements for the electronic transmission of a summary of care record 10% of the time and at least one successful exchange with a hospital or clinician that uses a different EHR vendor. The goal is to advance interoperability across vendor systems.

Stage 2 also contains standards and certification criteria that were either weak or nonexistent in Stage 1. "Stage 2 standards and certification criteria are more robust, requiring certified EHR technology to receive, display, and transmit considerably more types of data-using standards," explained the BPC in a companion report, "Accelerating Electronic Information Sharing to Improve Quality and...