A majority of healthcare providers may be interested in using their electronic health record systems to participate in an information exchange, but many have yet to allocate resources toward such an initiative, according to a new study from Beacon Partners.

The report indicated that about 70 percent of surveyed healthcare organizations said they would be interested in participating in a health information exchange. Another 66 percent said they believe HIE would be a positive step for their organization and many said the move could lead to improvements in patient care.

Despite the perception of these benefits, many providers have yet to plan for HIE participation. About half of the survey's respondents had not created a team to get their HIE participation efforts started, and many said they had insufficient room in their budgets.

"HIEs are top of mind for many healthcare organizations, and this study demonstrates their concerns and overall opinions," said Kevin Burchill, director of Beacon Partners.

He added that healthcare organizations will need to do more to make HIE participation a reality. These steps could include increasing budgets for such initiatives and putting staff in place to handle the transition.