Waltham, MA, July 11, 2013– The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC), a non-profit pioneer and leader in healthcare delivery through health information technology, announced that it has been selected by The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), a partner of the Commonwealth in extending its existing technology infrastructure, to provide advisory services to help design and implement subsequent phases of the Massachusetts state Health Information Exchange (HIE), commonly referred to as The HIway.
When fully developed, The HIway will provide a mechanism for the Commonwealth’s entire health care community—residents, providers, public health officials and others—to have appropriate access to health information. While phase one of the project focused on supporting connectivity among healthcare providers, subsequent phases will support the query and retrieval of information across the healthcare community to achieve the best possible care coordination for Massachusetts residents, and the analysis of protected health information (PHI) to better manage the quality and cost of care delivered to the population.
EOHSS selected MAeHC’s services based on its combined expertise in health IT strategy development and seasoned capabilities to identify and address technical, business, legal, policy and communication challenges. MAeHC will assist Massachusetts’ state leadership in mapping a practical plan of action for achieving the goals of The HIway. Specifically, MAeHC will provide guidance to EOHHS around the following core areas:
- Consent
- Participation Requirements
- EHR and other HIT System Integration
- Patient Engagement Services
MAeHC will also manage multi-stakeholder workgroup meetings, creating a forum to discuss and address consumer, provider, policy, legal and technology concerns around the project. By facilitating input from the community, MAeHC is able to deliver valuable insight to EOHSS that will enable The HIway to meet providers and other HIway participants where they are in technology adoption, encouraging a seamless transition and ensuring sustainability.
“We are delighted to have MAeHC provide us with subject matter expertise and stakeholder facilitation services,” said Manu Tandon, CIO of EOHHS. “MAeHC has built a level of expertise and trust within Massachusetts as well as at the Federal level which will be instrumental in making the Massachusetts Health Information HIway a success.”
Phase one of The HIway went live in October 2012, allowing healthcare participants to connect through direct-enabled EHR systems, local network devices and secure webmail portals. While still in the design stage, high-level planning for the next phase of The HIway began over a year and a half ago and is expected to go live between October 2013 and April 2014.
“We’re very proud to be a partner of EOHHS on an initiative so close to home,” said Micky Tripathi, President and CEO of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative. “It is a privilege to help harness community input to enable the Commonwealth to provide a secure system for health information exchange that is not only in line with how our community lives and works, but also aligns with the direction federal standards are moving as the landscape continues to evolve.”
About Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS)
The Executive Office of Health and Human Services is the largest Secretariat within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its work touches the lives of all Massachusetts residents. The mission of EOHHS is to provide effective leadership in the delivery of health and human services that promote health and safety, independence and quality of life for individuals, families and communities throughout the Commonwealth.
About Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC)
The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative is a national leader in the facilitation and management of electronic health record deployment, health information exchange and quality measure reporting. MAeHC is an independent non-profit corporation with a charitable mission to improve the delivery of health care by promoting the use of health IT. Formed in 2004 as a collaboration of non-profit health care stakeholders to demonstrate the most effective ways to deploy EHRs and HIE to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and affordability of care in Massachusetts, MAeHC now works across the United States with a wide range of physician practices, hospitals, state governments, contracting networks, management services organizations, HIE organizations, technology vendors, and consulting firms. Learn more about the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative.