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Communicating the Value of the Exchange
Mike Smyly, chief business development officer, Inland Northwest Health Services (INHS), says that new participants need to understand the financial viability of the exchange and its business model, so they understand the long-term investment for their organization and can feel comfortable from onset that value will be delivered. INHS, based in Spokane, Wash., started its HIE as a HIT collaborative in 1994 with an advisory structure made up of hospitals, community physicians, community business leaders, and members of the state HIE.
Smyly recommends that HIEs have new member discussions about federal , state, and exchange guidelines (HIEs should also provide those in written format); data sharing agreements; and all the complexities involved. “There’s a great deal of comfort for your new HIE members in opening up [the discussion] for existing members to have the opportunity to discuss their experience and help share the trust they have had [in the exchange],” says Smyly.
“I think the other part of building trust is communicating the success of the information exchange and how it has impacted care delivery, how it’s improved the quality of care, and perhaps limited some of the cost,” says Sandlot’s Deas. “To share those stories in an open fashion allows the value of the system to be appreciated.”
SMRTNET’s Jones remembers a presentation he gave five years ago in front of a large group about the benefits of HIE, and how the tenor of the discussion changed once a physician stood up to encourage his colleagues to get involved because, as he said, ‘patient care was on the line’. “The message and the messenger are so important here, and we have to rely on the participant and particularly the clinicians, to be the messenger,” says Jones. “It’s up to us to find the right words to communicate that.”
Jones says that his system tracks its patient opt-outs—which are normally in the 2 to 3 percent range—closely for patterns. In the past, opt-outs usually clustered around a staff person who felt uncomfortable with the HIE process; but once that person was engaged with training, they usually felt better, he says.
Smyly says that the INHS physicians have become champions for the exchange, and educate their patients about the HIE with collateral materials. INHS also runs local TV ads to promote the value of its information exchange. ONC’s Muir believes that the most successful ways to share the value of information exchange to patients are through stories about real patients. He says many HIEs have developed YouTube videos that communicate these stories.
