Electronically sharing patient information can reduce costs associated with repeat imaging, according to a study published in December’s special issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Hye-Young Jung, PhD, of the Weill Cornell Medical College department of healthcare policy & research, and colleagues analyzed the impact of health information exchange (HIE) on repeat imaging.

“Understanding the relationship between HIE and imaging costs is critical given the nation’s $30 billion investment in health IT,” Jung et al. wrote. “Identifying cost savings attributable to specific imaging modalities will provide insights that allow payers and policymakers to better gauge potential savings from HIE use and develop policies that target specific imaging procedures that are more likely to drive efficiency gains from these systems.”

The authors examined 2009 and 2010 data from two commercial health insurance plans that cover the majority of a 13-county region of western New York state. Only patients ages 18 years and older were considered for the study.

Overall, the study concludes that HIE use equaled approximately $32,000 in annual savings for the two plans. It comes out to $2.57 per patient.

“The lack of consistent evidence has led to skepticism surrounding the ability of HIE to reduce health care costs,” the authors wrote. “Our findings provide support for investments in HIE by demonstrating the potential for cost savings through reduced rates of repeat imaging.”

The authors also found that the potential impact of HIE on repeat imaging appears to vary by modality. In the studied sample size of more than 12,000 patients, for example, more than 57 percent of all repeat imaging for radiography could have been avoided if HIE was in place. Meanwhile, more than 23 percent of all repeat imaging for ultrasound could have been avoided, and the number for both CT, MRI and mammography was 8 percent or less.

The authors conclude that these numbers do show the potential for improvement through HIE, but significant changes reductions in repeat imaging will take more effort.

“Reducing imaging utilization likely requires multiple interventions,” the authors wrote. “To achieve more substantial savings through HIE, additional mechanisms that complement HIE will need to be developed to further reduce repeated advanced imaging procedures.”