HHS Director Kathleen Sebelius pushed back the deadline for state-run health information exchange (HIE) blueprints in a public letter last month. Most states are supportive, but a given few will remain stalwart in their resistance to the mandate.
So, as the new Friday HIE deadline looms, we take a look at where a few states stand, as well as any moves they’ve already made and how they’re progressing.
Kansas
The Kansas Health Information Exchange hasn’t followed a smooth trajectory, per se. In order to decrease expenditures, for instance, the KHIE board of directors will eventually relinquish control to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) by October 2013.
However, the Kansas-based exchange did alleviate some of its budgetary woes after reporting population health data to the CDC for the first time, using the Informatics Corporation of America (ICA) to send anonymous patient information.
Florida
Florida Governor Rick Scott hasn’t been as cooperative as many would like regarding Friday’s deadline – he opposes both HIEs and electronic health records due to concerns over privacy and costs.
Gov. Scott believes EHRs don’t save costs and fears systems are too easily hacked. However, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration created the Health Information Exchange Network over three years.
Massachusetts
The much venerated Massachusetts Health Information Exchange, or MassHIway, launched in October of this year. The exchange received $16.9 million in funding from Medicaid and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
MassHIway members can now connect using messaging-enabled EHRs and secure portals, and will soon even provide electronic patient visit summaries.
New Jersey
Steadfast in his opposition, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed legislation to establish a state-run health information exchange in New Jersey. His reasoning? The federal government hasn’t provided enough concrete parameters for establishing HIEs.
In a statement, Christie said of the veto: “any other action than this would be fiscally irresponsible.”
Ohio
Ohio’s state-designated HIE, the Ohio Health Information Partnership, was created in 2009. The non-profit is designed to construct its own networks, while offering aid to private programs for data sharing on their system.
The OHIP is a productive way for public and private organizations to work together, and the public HIE can help connect small private systems.
We obviously can’t include everyone, so let us know what’s going on with your home state in the comments section below!
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