Growth in Health Information Exchange With ACO Market Penetration

Accountable care organization (ACO) success depends in part on a broad network of health information exchange (HIE) partners to effectively coordinate care. Our study illustrates that although ACO participation broadens HIE networks, the effects accrue differently across markets with varying levels of ACO penetration.

• ACO hospitals in high–ACO penetration markets increase their HIE network breadth immediately after joining an ACO, but ACO hospitals in low–ACO penetration markets do not see gains for 2 years following ACO participation, on average.
• ACOs are unlikely to drive the necessary gains in nationwide interoperability, especially in markets with low ACO penetration.

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