AHRQ Laboratory Exchange Meeting

Communities across the Nation are developing health information exchange (HIE) initiatives to improve quality of care. Ambulatory care providers treating patients need quick and easy access to a range of medical information, such as medication histories and laboratory results. HIE enhances the connectivity of health information, which translates into easier access to needed information for ambulatory care providers. HIE initiatives seek to create connections between ambulatory and other health care providers in a community or region.

Many HIE initiatives have identified technical, legal, business, and policy barriers to more effective exchange of laboratory information. In June 2006, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) convened a 2-day meeting of representatives from major HIE initiatives, clinical laboratories, vendors, and other interested parties to discuss these barriers and identify methods for accelerating widespread access to laboratory information in ambulatory care settings.

Meeting Outcomes and Next Steps

Meeting participants explored, discussed, and debated a variety of obstacles and potential solutions facing widespread HIE initiatives that aim at connecting ambulatory care providers with clinical laboratory information. These discussions and their outcomes have been summarized in a report produced by the AHRQ National Resource Center for Health Information Technology. The report includes thoughts for policymakers and private sector leaders as well as recommended next steps for achieving a vision of better quality of care through efficient, timely access to clinical information for health care providers.

Download the AHRQ Laboratory Exchange Meeting report (PDF, 333 Kb; Text Version*).

*This version of the report is formatted for compliance with Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

For more information about the AHRQ National Resource Center for Health IT, click here.

For more information about the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, click here.