Now in its fifth year, the CurrentCare health-information exchange has roughly 40 percent of Rhode Island’s population signed up, with more joining every day. It is the kind of technological advance that the health care industry has been touting as a key to reform for years.
The reasons for optimism are obvious. By having all of a patient’s health care data stored in one spot, accessible by any health care provider – be it a primary care physician, a cardiologist or an emergency medical technician – duplicative or inappropriate care can be reduced significantly. And in fact, it is being reduced. That means better care, for less money.
The creation of CurrentCare has not been without challenges, not the least of which is the cost. But for the full value of the network to be realized, the state needs more people signed up. And the patient information does not travel out of the state yet, making its value less than it could be.
Still, it is a success story, just one that needs consistent effort to make it more so. •