How community health information exchanges can evolve to support population health and healthcare: The case study of the Indiana Network for Patient Care (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Community Health Information Exchange (HIEs) organizations were originally designed to support individual patient care, but their ability to aggregate health and non-health information about populations offers significant opportunities. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to discuss and illustrate current opportunities for HIEs using the status and trajectory of the Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC), the oldest and one of the largest HIEs in the United States. METHODS We reviewed the research and clinical applications the INPC has developed and introduced numerous innovations and initiatives. RESULTS HIEs have the positioning and opportunity to provide highly relevant services in today’s healthcare, and public and population health contexts, such as research-ready data sets, state registry collaborations, data commons, population health applications, clinical applications, nationwide interoperability, and support of accountable care organizations. CONCLUSIONS Community HIEs can help advance the practice of medicine and population health and help shift sick-focused to health-focused care. To fully take advantage of their potential, community HIEs must continue to innovate and evolve.