Mastering Data Management

More in Healthcare

• Response: A Universal Identifier Isn’t a Silver Bullet
• Transforming Healthcare through Analytics
• Getting Your Healthcare House in Order in 2012
• 3 Best Practices in Identity Management

More from Chad Cosper

• Engaging Health Providers for Exchange
• Join Us: Sharing Data for Smarter Healthcare
• Can a Provider Index Save You from Embarrassment?
• Webinar: Engaging the Provider for Exchange

Share this Post

Recent Comments

• Lorraine Fernandes on Response: A Universal Identifier Isn’t a Silver Bullet
• Henrik Liliendahl Sørensen on Response: A Universal Identifier Isn’t a Silver Bullet
• Response: A Universal Identifier Isn’t a Silver Bullet | Mastering Data Management on 3 Best Practices in Identity Management

This four-step action plan can help state-wide HIEs succeed.

State designated entities play a pivotal role in achieving the goals set forth in the national health IT agenda. While states need to plan for the future, they must deliver the foundation in 2010.

To start on the path to a sustainable state-wide health information exchange (HIE), states must align their existing resources, direct disparate resources and ensure that investments yield improvements in the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare.

States setting off on this journey can learn a lot from the states and regional HIEs who have been in the trenches. Through our experience, we’ve identified four steps to achieving a sustainable state-wide health information exchange.

Step 1: Align Resources & Set Expectations

The first step in achieving a state-wide HIE should be to align your available resources and set appropriate expectations. By better understanding what you have available, both in terms of people and technology, you can plan more effectively. Setting expectations gives stakeholders the opportunity to opine while ensuring everyone agrees to the same set of goals.

An extensible EMPI or patient registry at the foundation of HIE helps greatly, both in time to immediate and long-term ROI.

Step 2: Build Consensus & Promote User Adoption

If you build it, will they come? Yes, to gain access to information that improves patient care! But the information must be accurate, reliable and secure to win (and keep) stakeholder support and adoption.

BHIX, a regional health information exchange in Brooklyn, is a model for state-wide HIE. BHIX has achieved wide-spread participation across a diverse set of stakeholders by using an Initiate EMPI to manage data quality and achieve key objectives. Learn more about BHIX.

Step 3: Develop a Flexible Data Governance Strategy

Sharing data between affiliated or legally separated entities is politically sensitive and can be a significant roadblock to achieving interoperability. In fact, the success or failure of your HIE may very well depend on the governance model you put into place.

Consider the number of potential participants in your state-wide data exchange that are competing for the loyalty of the same patients or physicians. Naturally, these stakeholders are going to resist sharing information without solid governance policies.

A data governance model with an EMPI that enables a federated environment where owners retain control of their data can help overcome these concerns. Specifically, a flexible data governance strategy should allow stakeholders to:

• Limit the amount of data to be shared
• Protect patient privacy
• Maintain high data quality standards
• Ensure the right patient’s information is shared

For HIE to be embraced by constituents across the state, your data governance policy must articulate a defined purpose and allow for varying methods of ownership, data sharing and access.

Step 4: Implement a Standards-Based Infrastructure

Connecting multiple, disparate legacy systems together to create a meaningful, state-wide information exchange is costly and complex. A best-of-breed approach that adheres to a standards-based integration model improves success by creating a plug-and-play architecture that can grow over time.

Standards-based registry technology supports the plug-and-play method and reduces cost and complexity by integrating with existing systems to uniquely identify patients and providers. Look for registry technology with attributes that include:

• Built on industry standards, like Web Services, HL7, HITSP, and IHE profiles (PIX, PDQ, PAM, ATNA, XDS.b)
• Proven to integrate with new and legacy systems without disruption
• Sophisticated matching technology to effectively manage diverse data
• Extensible to grow over time to include patients, providers, documents and more

By following these four steps, states can begin their HIE initiatives with a focused plan that builds consensus and prepares users for adoption while adhering to data governance and standards best practices.