Background

Health information exchange (HIE) is frequently cited as an important objective of health information technology investment because of its potential to improve quality, reduce cost, and increase patient satisfaction. In this paper we examine the status and practices of HIE in six countries, drawn from a range of higher and lower income regions.

Methods

For each of the countries represented–China, England, India, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United States–we describe the state of current practice of HIE with reference to two scenarios: transfer of care and referral. For each country we discuss national objectives, barriers and plans for further advancing clinical information exchange.

Results

The countries vary widely in levels of adoption of EHRs, availability of health information in electronic form suitable for HIE, and in the information technology infrastructure to be used for transmission. Common themes emerged, however, including an expectation that information will be exchanged rather than gathered anew, the need for incentives to promote information exchange, and concerns about data security and patient confidentiality.

Conclusions

Although the ability to transfer health information to where it is most needed is nearly always mentioned as an advantage of HIE adoption, there are wide differences in the degree to which this has been achieved to support the scenarios used in this study. Nevertheless, these differences indicate varying stages of progress along a comparable pathway, with similar barriers being identified in the countries described. In some cases, these have been partially surmounted while elsewhere work is needed. We reflect on contextual factors influencing the status and direction of HIE efforts in different global regions and their implications for progress.