Innovation, Partnerships Driving Nationwide Interoperability to Address Healthcare’s Top Challenges

More than 2 million providers exchanged patient data more than 21 billion times in 2022, tipping the scale for interoperability and better-informed patient care

Key Insights

1. Greater interoperability is keeping care teams better informed and connected.

2. Clinicians are tackling medication cost concerns before they hinder adherence.

3. The specialty medication journey is becoming less painful.

4. Healthcare professionals are accessing information that’s richer and more complete.

5. Care teams are evolving and tapping into existing technologies.

Arlington, Va. – March 14, 2023 – More than 2 million care providers exchanged patient clinical and benefit information more than 21.7 billion times in 2022, reaching virtually every American patient, according to the Surescripts 2022 National Progress Report. In the face of ongoing provider burnout, staffing shortages, and increasing costs, interoperability in healthcare flourished, and the Surescripts Network Alliance came together to simplify how health intelligence is shared.

“While there is no single solution to the challenges facing healthcare today, we have billions of reasons for hope that come with every exchange of secure patient information,” said Frank Harvey, Chief Executive Officer of Surescripts. “I’m inspired every day when I see the ways the Surescripts Network Alliance is coming together to solve healthcare’s shared challenges with shared health intelligence—and making significant headway toward better, safer, less costly care in America.”

Report highlights:

• More clinicians and organizations tapped into the Carequality interoperability framework via Record Locator & Exchange, surpassing more than 1 billion clinical documents exchanged in 2022 and representing 30% of Carequality’s average monthly exchange activity.
• Clinicians exchanged more than 174 million secure, HIPAA-compliant Clinical Direct messages.
• 2.34 billion prescriptions were filled electronically, and 2.54 billion patient medication histories were delivered.
• Nearly 700,000 prescribers used Real-Time Prescription Benefit to save patients an average of $61 on traditional prescriptions and $428 on specialty medications last year.

As the nation’s leading health information network, Surescripts exchanged much more than electronic prescriptions in 2022, including patient eligibility and formulary data that informed 4.34 billion care events, nearly 500 million prescription benefit checks at the point of prescribing, and 44% more prior authorizations processed electronically compared to 2021. At the same time, the number of prescribers using the Surescripts network increased by nearly 8%, and that growth was largely attributed to new prescriber specialties and roles across evolving care teams—including residents, nurse practitioners, dentists and physician assistants.

“It’s clear that the interoperability that’s happening across the Surescripts network is having a direct impact on patients’ lives,” explained Alan Swenson, Executive Director of Carequality. “Thousands of individual healthcare organizations across the country are innovating to make life easier and safer for their staff and patients.”

Download the Surescripts 2022 National Progress Report to learn more.