Health Information Exchange Saved $2K per ED Patient, Study Finds

Physicians' access to a health information exchange saved more than $1 million in emergency care costs over a one-year period, according to a study released Monday by the American College of Emergency Physicians,

Physicians' access to a health information exchange saved more than $1 million in emergency care costs over a one-year period, according to a study released Monday by the American College of Emergency Physicians, Healthcare IT News reports.

The average savings -- based on Medicare-allowable charges -- amounted to nearly $2,000 per patient.

Beginning in February 2012, ACEP researchers tracked for one year the care of 532 patients at 11 emergency departments in South Carolina, all of whom had data available through a health information exchange. In addition, health care providers who treated the patients completed a survey.

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Source: iHealthBeat