Rochester RHIO Plots Value Of HIEs And Imaging

When the Rochester RHIO was established in 2006 to improve the quality and efficiency of care in the greater Rochester, NY, area, one of the requirements from a local matching grant was to enable diagnostic-image sharing among healthcare providers. Since July 2009, the nonprofit, community-run organization has offered this service, first receiving images from a few and then expanding to include 11 participating radiology practices.

In 2013, Rochester RHIO expects to complete studies it has been conducting on changes in clinical care based on HIE access to images. "By next year, we should have more granular details of the clinical variations that happen with access to images," said Executive Director Ted Kremer. The Rochester RHIO's studies will contribute to current literature on the value of HIEs and imaging use.

To date, the Rochester RHIO has conducted a modeling exercise to understand administrative savings. "We're looking at in excess of a million dollars a year in administrative savings outside of reduction in duplicative imaging and radiation exposure to patients," he said. "We're just now getting the kind of volumes needed to study these aspects."...