Qual-IT - December 2006 | Archived

In Massachusetts, a number of collaborations, including the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC), are addressing HIT adoption.  Micky Tripathi described how coordinated efforts are focused on connecting providers within communities (MAeHC’s primary focus), as well as connecting communities across the state.  MAeHC has developed a multi-stakeholder governance model, and is now concentrating on facilitating broad adoption and use of HIT in three communities.  Larger questions about the development of a long-term strategic business model remain unanswered, but broad adoption of HIT, ready access to standardized clinical data from HIT systems, and strong demand from customers (providers, consumers, and payers) are clearly essential building blocks for sustainability.

New York State’s activities in support of HIT adoption and use have expanded significantly in the last year.  Bill Schroth and Ellen Flink, of the New York State Department of Health (DOH), and Rainu Kaushal, of Weill Cornell Medical College, provided updates on the State’s multi-faceted HIT agenda.  In recent developments:

·        The next round of funding available through the HEAL-NY HIT program will focus on electronic exchange of imaging data and public health data, as well as expansion of existing regional health information exchange efforts (including those that received funds in the first set of HEAL-NY HIT grants).

·        The New York State Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration is conducting an assessment of health care policies and practices that affect the privacy and security of electronic health information, and developing recommendations based on these findings.

·        The Health Information Technology Evaluation Collaborative is identifying opportunities and priorities to evaluate HIT implementation efforts, and measuring the impact of HIT on health care quality, cost, and efficiency.

The State has provided significant leadership to advance a multi-stakeholder strategy for HIT, but sustained collaboration and further enhancement of the overall state HIT strategy will require continuing organized efforts.  In January 2005, DOH convened a planning committee, with technical support provided by the United Hospital Fund, to develop recommendations on how this sustained collaboration could be achieved.  The committee’s report was released at the summit, and its findings presented by Carol Raphael, of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. 

The report concluded that a new governance and organizational model is needed to support ongoing collaboration to advance HIT adoption and use.  This organization should develop principles and priorities to guide state and regional HIT initiatives; serve as a resource for regional health information organizations in New York; identify barriers and propose solutions to ensure widespread adoption and use of HIT; create a clearinghouse of information and tools on HIT policy and implementation issues; and promote measures to continuously monitor and evaluate progress toward the state’s HIT strategic goals.

With continued support from DOH and a founding grant of $100,000 from the United Hospital Fund, the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) has now been established to carry out the planning committee’s recommendations.  From the outset, NYeC will seek input from health care stakeholders across New York, through organized education and outreach efforts, and will set up advisory committees to identify opportunities for and barriers to accelerating HIT adoption and use. 

Multi-stakeholder collaboration is clearly essential for the broad adoption and use of HIT.  States are playing an important role in defining the structure and goals for this collaboration.  As New York State’s role continues to evolve, under the leadership of a new governor and in concert with developments at the federal level, the New York eHealth Collaborative will complement and strengthen those efforts to advance the HIT strategy in New York.