Use of Health Information Exchange in The Continuity of Care as Viewed by Patients and Nurses: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Patients' attitudes towards sharing their personal health information are critical for implementation of Health Information Exchange (HIE). Nurses contribute significantly to information sharing within the care continuum in hospitals and community. The purpose of this study was to examine the awareness and readiness of chronic ill patients and nurses to use HIE.Methods: A cross sectional study among 312 inpatients with a chronic illness, 110 nurses working in internal wards, and 55 contact nurses working in a large Health Maintenance Organization. Multiple linear regressions were performed to assess the associations between knowledge, attitudes, socio-demographics, and both the readiness and intention to use HIE. Results: Mean levels of awareness were low across all three groups. The readiness to share information with medical healthcare providers was higher than the readiness to share information with agents not involved in direct care. Contact nurses expressed more positive attitudes than internal ward nurses or patients (F=11.25; p=.0001) and were more willing than patients to share information with health care workers (F=16.786; p=0001). All nurses (Internal ward and contact) were more willing to share information with medical agents not involved in direct care as compared to patients (F=8.072; p=.0001). Contact nurses expressed a significantly greater intention to use HIE than did internal ward nurses or patients (F=9.825; p=.0001), Knowledge, attitudes and being a nurse predicted the intention to share information on HIE with medical health care providers (F=29.91), and with agents not involved in direct care (F=19.65).Conclusions: Before implementation of an HIE system, it is important to raise awareness, readiness, and intention to use HIE among the general public, nurses, and other medical staff. Policy makers should organize national campaigns under the auspices of the Ministry of Health, in order to present the advantages of HIE and provide detailed information about the systems.