Connecting communities: making inroads to exchange electronic healthcare data at the local level.

Abstract

Standardizing healthcare information exchange and interoperability--which permits the electronic flow of information among medical organizations--could create dollar 77.8 billion in annual savings nationally, according to a recent study. Many models have emerged at the community and regional levels recently to expedite this process. However, the road they follow is new and often lacks guidance. This issue looks at how several organizations are progressing and how they expect their actions to impact the delivery and quality of care.