Sep 27
2014
Survey Suggests Many ACOs Lack Mobile Applications and Face High Costs
Although most accountable care organizations (ACOs) have the health information technology (HIT) to improve clinical quality, poor interoperability across systems and providers remains a barrier, according to an ACO survey conducted by Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) and the eHealth Initiative. Access to data from external organizations was challenging for 100 percent of respondents.
The survey, fielded in July-August of 2014, collected responses from 62 ACOs, including members of Premier’s PACT Population Health Collaborative.
Compounding the challenge of accessing and sharing data is the fact that 88 percent of the ACOs face significant obstacles in integrating data from disparate sources, and 83 percent report challenges integrating technology analytics into workflow – barriers that become more acute as ACOs add new platforms or build on their expansive network of medical settings. As ACOs collect data from more sources, they also report concerns about interoperability and data management. Interoperability of disparate systems is a significant challenge for 95 percent of organizations using HIT, and could be limiting the abilities of ACOs to exchange data.