D.C. Report: NHIN, Quality Reporting, State IT Implementation

States Getting on Board, and Fast. There is an increasing amount of activity occurring at the state level as states act swiftly to submit their health IT implementation plans, and meet the deadlines set by the ONC. On July 1, Gov. Mark Parkinson announced the formation of the Kansas Health Information Exchange Inc., a non-profit organization that will oversee the health IT operations in that state. Kansas has set itself a target of providing each of its residents with an electronic medical record within four years. This comes after the Health Information Technology Oversight Council (HITOC) of Oregon released its Strategic Health Information Exchange Oversight Plan to the public on June 17. Washington State is in the process of submitting its final plan to the ONC. Virginia and New Hampshire expect to release their plans before August.