Engaging Consumers: Research Findings: Finding 1

Finding No. 1. Support is extremely strong among consumers for secure electronic health information exchange with 70 percent of respondents favoring its development and 21 percent opposing its development.

Respondents to the phone survey were asked the following question: "Now if you learned that secure electronic health information exchange is being considered or made available in the Gulf Coast states, would you favor or oppose the creation of this type of secure electronic health information exchange in the Gulf Coast states?"

Those who rated health information exchange positively or who favor health information exchange being made available gave the following reasons:

• Having doctors and hospitals exchanging the information;
• It would be very useful and timely in an emergency;
• If you are traveling or in a different state it makes it easier to get medical help;
• It would be convenient, speed up the process and save paperwork;
• Easier to transfer medical records;
• May reduce health care costs; and,
• A handful of respondents in Louisiana and Mississippi noted that if such an exchange had existed during Hurricane Katrina, many medical problems might have been averted.

Support for the creation of secure electronic health information exchange is also strong across all political party affiliations, with 73 percent of Republicans, 70 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Independents favoring the development of health information exchange.