Ohio highlights patient access in new HIE plan
By Heather Hayes
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
In a move designed to make the most of federal stimulus funding while involving patients in their own healthcare, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has kicked off a statewide health information exchange that ultimately will manage both electronic health records (EHR) and personal health records (PHR).
Strickland last week designated the Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP), a partnership between the Ohio Department of Insurance and several private sector and non-profit entities, to lead the effort. The partnership will be responsible for planning and operating the HIE and supporting the adoption of EHRs.
The Department of Insurance, which has $8 million in state funds earmarked for the effort, recently applied for a $30 million grant under ARRA to create an extension center that will help train Ohio healthcare providers to use EHRs.
The agency plans to apply for second grant in mid-October to help pay for the new network.
Although Ohio already has a well-established regional HIE—HealthBridge in Cincinnati—and other HIE initiatives underway, the new statewide network will be a separate effort, according to Carly Glick, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Insurance.
“There weren’t any existing entities that perfectly matched our vision,” she said. “So we needed to start fresh and start quickly and have broad representation throughout the state with our partners.”
The new project will operate a purchasing collaborative that can help lower the cost of EHR systems for smaller providers, in addition to creating and managing the statewide HIE and developing easy-to-use PHR tools.
A major differentiator of Strickland’s vision, Glick noted, is to give patients more control over their data.
“The vision is that the network will enable patients to actually track and share their health status and data, and then any authorized healthcare provider will also have an overview of the patient’s health status and record,” Glick said.
“We also plan to open it up to policymakers and researchers so they access the data, which would be de-identified.”
While Ohio officials want to get the statewide HIE underway as soon as possible, Glick said, a timeline and next steps won’t be established until the board is named and holds its first meetings. “We’re just getting underway but the plan is to move very quickly,” Glick said. “We’re serious about advancing health information technology in Ohio.”
OHIP board members will initially include representatives from BioOhio, a non-profit devoted to bioscience research, industry and education; the Ohio Hospital Association; the Ohio State Medical Association; the Ohio Osteopathic Association; and the Department of Insurance. In time, the board will be expanded to include healthcare payers, employers, the university system, behavioral health providers, community heath centers and consumers.
