Sustainability

What can the government do to better enable health information exchange (HIE)? That's the core question the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology recently asked in a request for information (RFI). Micky Tripathi, president and CEO of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC) and chairman of the ONC's Information Exchange Workgroup, recently spoke with HCI to talk about this complex issue.

It might not be too long from now when healthcare providers across the country can share patient data electronically in just a few seconds. Indeed, according to a recent report from the Mountain View, Calif.-based research company, Frost & Sullivan, the health information exchange (HIE) market is set to grow significantly over the next 18-24 months thanks to various regulatory factors.

One word sums up what winning a second term means to Obama administration government technology initiatives: continuity.

According to a report from Washington Business Journal, the Washington D.C. Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) has been shut down due to sustainability issues. The report cites the D.C. Primary Care Organization (DCPCA), the RHIO’s founder and chief advocate, as the source of this news.

After much turmoil surrounding the development of a statewide health information exchange (HIE) in California, UC Davis Health System announced on September 25 that leaders at the Institute for Population Health Improvement have established a new HIE organization, the California Health eQuality (CHeQ). CHeQ seeks to improve health-care quality and the coordination of care by using HIE technology to facilitate the rapid flow of information among physician offices, hospitals and other healthcare providers.