HIE Return on Investment
HIE participation is not only beneficial for improving patient care coordination, monitoring, disease management and transitions of care; it also provides other important positive returns on investment.
Cost Savings
One of the key ROI benefits is cost savings.
HIE participation eliminates redundant tests and procedures, enabling healthcare organizations to provide care to patients more efficiently, reducing the costs associated with unnecessary or duplicated care. A study published in the American Journal of Managed Care found that HIE participation reduced the number of imaging tests by 27.9% and laboratory tests by 12.1%
Improved Revenue
15 minutes saved gathering a patient’s medical information in a 3-physician practice opens a $50 appointment daily to each physician’s schedule, for a total of $150/day, totaling $30,000 more in annual revenue after the initial HIE implementation cost.
The opportunity to capture significantly richer clinical documentation enables coding that more accurately reflects severity of patients’ conditions, which can result in improved revenue through higher case mix index (CMI) and risk adjustment scores (RAF).
By improving patient care and satisfaction, providers can attract more patients and expand their market share. A recent report by the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation found that HIE participation led to a 10% increase in office visits among participating providers.