Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut, ConnectiCare, Health Net of the Northeast
to provide patient data for health information exchange
Greg Bordonaro of Hartford Business reported October 12, 2009, “Five of the state’s largest health insurance companies and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have begun to aggregate some of their patient data and share it with Connecticut physicians as part of a new venture that aims to improve quality care in the state.”
The Connecticut Health Quality Cooperative with these insurance companies was formed by eHealth Connecticut, which was designated a Chartered Value Exchange by AHRQ in 2008. CHQC, according to an eHealth Connecticut presentation given at New England HIMSS Public Policy Forum in May 2009, was setup to “Provide physicians with aggregated and standardized performance data to improve quality and efficiency of care for all patients.” Per that presentation,claims-based measures from Medicare and health plan HEDIS to be used include: Diabetes tests (A1c, Lipid, eye exams), CAD/HTN (Lipid), Prevention (mammography, PAP); Asthma (medications), and Efficiency (Rx/tests for children with URIs or pharyngitis, respectively.)
Presentations at New England HIMSS Public Policy Forum, May 2009
4th Annual Public Policy Forum: “The Perfect Storm for Healthcare Reform” Download Library
eHealth Connecticut: “Statewide Health Information Exchange:
Turning Hype into Real Projects” (pdf)
Presented by Scott Cleary, Program Director, eHealth Connecticut
eHealth Connnecticut, designated the state’s official Health Information Exchange, according to Hartford Business, also recently joined forces with THICC (Transforming Healthcare in Connecticut Communities), a coalition of 20 hospitals, physician practices, employer groups, and insurers forming their own health information exchange.
THICC: See a September 1, 2009 story by Eric Wicklund in Healthcare IT News about the EHR setup from Allscripts that hospitals and physician organizations in THICC will subsidize.
