Peer-Reviewed Research from Diameter Health and KONZA Demonstrates Value of Health Information Exchange (HIE) Data for Quality Reporting

FARMINGTON, Conn., March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Diameter Health, the standard for health data optimization, and KONZA, a leading nationwide health information network, announced today the publishing of a ground-breaking research study that provides evidence that calculating clinical quality measures using enriched, health data within a health information exchange (HIE) improves the accuracy of the quality scores.

The research published in the Journal of American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) titled "Clinical Data Sharing Improves Quality Measurement and Patient Safety" examines how quality calculations vary when using data from an individual electronic health record (EHR) compared with longitudinal data from a health information exchange (HIE). The results demonstrate that health information exchange data provides a more complete and accurate view of quality reporting, while quality measures calculated using single-site EHR data are limited by incomplete information.

"This study reveals that multi-source, longitudinal patient data represents the gold standard for clinical quality measurement and reporting," said John D'Amore, co-founder of Diameter Health and study co-author. "Our research work with KONZA proves that using enriched, optimized clinical data aggregated from an HIE maximizes quality measurement reporting and gives a more complete picture of the patient care being delivered."

To perform the study, Diameter Health and KONZA researchers examined 14 clinical quality measures for 5,300 patients calculated by using the data from an individual EHR source and contrasted to calculations when HIE data were added to the EHR data. The results showed significant differences in 13 of the 14 quality measures when HIE data was included in the calculations, affecting 19% of patients, with changes in quality measure calculations affecting 42 of the 53 participating health care organizations. 

Further, the study found that clinical data sharing creates a substantial positive effect on patient safety and quality measures routinely used in value-based payment models. Therefore, value-based programs that incorporate health information exchange data are more likely to result in accurate quality measurement and appropriate reimbursement.

The results of the research hold significant policy implications for federal, state and commercial programs that use quality measurement as part of provider evaluation and reimbursement. To improve the accuracy and robustness of future quality measurement, sponsors of these programs should consider including longitudinal data from HIEs to reduce administrative effort and decouple electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) calculations from any specific EHR.

"This pivotal research, conducted with Diameter Health, demonstrates that the current method of calculating quality reports from a single EHR can incorrectly reflect the quality of care provided to patients," said Laura McCrary EdD, President and CEO of KONZA. "The results further demonstrate that to advance better patient care and achieve more precise reimbursement, quality-measurement data should reflect all sources of care. This study provides evidence that HIE data has an essential role to play in ensuring accurate quality reporting and reimbursement."

About Diameter Health

Diameter Health is the standard for health data optimization, transforming raw patient information into the highest quantity and quality of interoperable data for healthcare organizations. Powered by automated, scalable, auditable technology and a team of industry experts, Diameter Health delivers actionable and enriched data that enables real-time transactions, improved analytics, reduced cost, and better care outcomes. The Diameter Health technology enables organizations that depend on multi-source clinical data streams, such as health plans, Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), healthcare IT, life insurers, and health systems to realize greater value from their data. For more information, visit www.diameterhealth.com or contact us at [email protected].

About KONZA

KONZA operates a nationwide health information exchange, and is deeply committed to connecting healthcare providers, patients, health plans, and our technology partners together to organize healthcare data into information that will drive healthcare transformation. Patients, health plans, physicians, healthcare facilities, and other healthcare providers from across the country benefit from KONZA's delivery of unequaled actionable intelligence. For more information, visit www.konza.org.

Media Contact:
Stacy State
Amendola Communications for Diameter Health
502.744.7409
[email protected]

SOURCE Diameter Health