Primary care physicians who used a community HIE significantly improved their patients’ transition from hospitalization to outpatient care, according to a new study that used data from Paso del Norte Health Information Exchange (PHIX).

The study analyzed 8,216 hospital inpatients discharged from January 1, 2021, through November 30, 2021. When a primary care physician looked up patient information in the HIE, patients were 50 percent less likely to be readmitted or reutilize the hospital in the follow-up window.

While reduced readmissions is a key goal for all care facilities, primary care physicians only looked up 3 percent of patients who had a follow-up appointment 30 days after discharge on the HIE.

“Low engagement with HIEs by US clinicians is a chronic problem despite widespread adoption of EHRs,” the study authors wrote. “Some physicians use the HIE as standard practice, which likely accounts for most lookups, while others never use it.”

The study noted that a passive communication structure, where patients don't disclose a recent hospital visit or primary care physicians, fail to ask the right questions. As a result, the study proposes using an alert system to notify primary care physicians when a patient is admitted to the hospital.

To meet this need, RosettaHealth offers its Event Notification Service, which provides real-time notifications of significant care events across care settings and communities.

Using this messaging platform, it is possible to capture and share hospital admits and discharges. It also provides a summary report on all patient events, and can reduce hospital readmissions while enhancing medication reconciliation and chronic care management.  

 RosettaHealth can assist with any health information challenges you might have, book a free consultation with one of our interoperability experts.