Spotlight on State Exchange: Mass HIway
The Massachusetts Health Information Highway or better known as Mass HIway, is the infrastructure that will enable the electronic movement of health related information between doctors’ offices, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories and skilled nursing facilities throughout the state. When fully developed the Mass HIway will provide a mechanism for the entire state’s health care community to have appropriate access to health information.
Current goals of the Mass HIway include:
- Improving access to comprehensive, coordinated, person-focused health care through widespread provider adoption and meaningful use of certified EHRs
- Improving the quality and safety of health care across all providers, through Health IT that enables better coordinated care, provides useful evidence-based decision support applications, and can report data elements to support quality measurement.
- Slow the growth of health care spending through efficiencies realized through the use of Health IT.
- Improving the health of the Commonwealth’s population through public health programs, research and quality improvement efforts, enabled through efficient, accurate, reliable and secure health information exchange processes.
Benefits of the Mass HIway system are to:
- Positively influence care coordination and delivery due to improved access to information
- Reduce administrative costs throughout the delivery system
- Improve public health reporting and analytics
- Enhance patient care communication among providers
- Increase patient engagement with providers on care plans
Organizational Documents
- Strategic and Operational Plan– Current operational plan for Mass HIway
- Overview of the State-Wide Health Information Exchange– Overview, HIE 101, and Example Use Cases
- How to Join– Steps and procedures for enrollment
- Fact Sheet– Frequently asked questions and other information
Latest News: 6/20/13 – The Massachusetts eHealth Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MeHI) announced 32 collaborative projects that will receive HIway Implementation Grants of up to $75,000 each. These Implementation Grants will assist 80 health care organizations across the Commonwealth in connecting to the statewide Health Information Exchange, the Mass HIway, enabling them to improve patient care and reduce costs.
Organization Profile:
State: Massachusetts
Name: Mass HIway
Established: 2012
Provider Information: Enrollment
Website: http://www.mehi.masstech.org/health-information-exchange-0/mass-hiway
Social Media: Follow them on Twitter @MassEHealth