The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) included in stage 2 meaningful use (MU) the requirement for eligible providers to transmit a summary of care record electronically for at least 10% of patients referred or transferred to another setting of care or provider of care.1 The transmission of summary of care records, particularly from ambulatory pediatricians to specialists in tertiary care centers or in hospitals caring for children, would be extremely helpful to children and pediatricians and would improve safety and quality of care. Such transmissions would also reduce costs through avoidance of unnecessary testing, duplicate procedures, and allergic reactions, as well as radiation exposure from unnecessary duplicate radiology tests. Regrettably, means to exchange health information among health care entities remain complex, inefficient, and grossly underutilized.2,–5
Outpatient pediatricians have 3 ways to exchange records: (1) participate in the Nationwide Health Information Network; (2) use exchange...
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