Regional Extension Center Awardee Web Sites Listed by Office of National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC)

Regional Extension Center (REC) Awardee Web Sites
Excerpted from ONC Site; Re-ordered by State Postal Code

These 60 REC awardees were announced in February and April 2010 by Office of National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).
These Web sites may not yet contain information about the REC, its award, and the new responsibilities. Per a recent media conference call, ONC shared  that awardees are at different stages of readiness to work with clinicians, and ONC is working with them or meeting with over next few weeks to guide them to launch as soon as possible.

Excerpted on April 30, 2010.

State/Ter
Regional Extension Center Awardees
AK Alaska eHealth Network, Anchorage, AK
AL University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
AR Arkansas Foundation For Medical Care
AZ Arizona Health-e Connection, Phoenix, AZ
CA Local Initiative Health Authority for Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA
CA Northern California Regional Extension Center
CA Southern California Regional Extension Center
CO Colorado RHIO
CT eHealthConnecticut, Inc., Rocky Hill, CT
DC National Indian Health Board, Washington, DC
DC District of Columbia Primary Care Association
DE Quality Insights of Delaware, Inc., Wilmington, DE
FL University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
FL Community Health Centers Alliance, Inc, St. Petersburg, FL
FL University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
FL Health Choice Network, Inc., Florida
GE Morehouse School of Medicine, Inc., Georgia
HI Hawaii Health Information Exchange, Honolulu, HI
IL Northern Illinois University
IL Northwestern University
IN Purdue University
IO Iowa IFMC
KS Kansas Foundation for Medical Care Inc.
KY University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington, KY
LA Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum, Baton Rouge, LA
LA eQHealth Solutions, Inc, Baton Rouge, LA
MA Massachusetts Technology Park Cooperation
MD Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients, Baltimore, MD
ME HealthInfoNet, Manchester, ME
MI Altarum Institute, Michigan
MO The Curators of the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
MT Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation, Helena, MT
NC University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
ND Key Health Alliance (Stratis Health), Minnesota – North Dakota
NE CIMRO of Nebraska
NJ New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ
NM LCF Research, New Mexico
NY New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC)
NY Fund for Public Health New York
OH Ohio Health Information Partnership
OH-KY-IN Greater Cincinnati HealthBridge (Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana)
OK Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, Inc.
OR OCHIN Inc. (Primary), Oregon
PA Quality Insights of Pennsylvania, Inc. (Eastern), King of Prussia, PA
PA Quality Insights of Pennsylvania, Inc. (Western), King of Prussia, PA
PR Ponce School of Medicine, PR
RI Rhode Island Quality Institute
SC South Carolina Research Foundation, Columbia, SC
SD Dakota State University, Madison, SD
TN Qsource (Tennessee)
TX The TAMUS Health Science Center Research Foundation, College Station, TX
TX University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX
TX Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Education and Research Foundation, Irving, TX
TX Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX
UT-NV HealthInsight, Utah-Nevada
VA VHQC and the Center for Innovative Technology for The Virginia Consortium
VT Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc.
WA-ID Qualis Health, Washington – Idaho
WI MetaStar, Inc., Wisconsin
WV West Virginia Health Improvement Institute Inc.

HISPC on ONC site: Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration

The Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC)
Office on National Coordinator for Health IT has placed all HIPSC documents on its Web site. Much of the content on ONC’s HISPC front page is excerpted below. HISPC was a 2006-2009 series of projects produced under HHS contracts with as many as 42 states and territories.
Click here for HISPC page on ONC site

Also see pdf of AIM (Act and Implementation Manual). 

HISPC documents and accomplishments came up today at one of the Regional Collaboration Meeting breakout sessions at the Health IT Conference in Boston April 29-30, 2010. So this post id dedicated to responding to those questions and needs. 

Location on ONC site showing breadcrumbs:
Home > ONC Initiatives > State Level Initiatives >
Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC)

Excerpted from ONC’s Section on April 29, 2010.
The Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration
(HISPC)
 

“Established in June 2006 by RTI International through a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC) originally comprised 34 states and territories. HISPC phase 3 began in April 2008, and HISPC now comprises 42 states and territories, and aims to address the privacy and security challenges presented by electronic health information exchange through multi-state collaboration. Each HISPC participant continues to have the support of its state or territorial governor and maintains a steering committee and contact with a range of local stakeholders to ensure that developed solutions accurately reflect local preferences. 

“The third phase, comprises 7 multi-state collaborative privacy and security projects focused on analyzing consent data elements in state law; studying intrastate and interstate consent policies; developing tools to help harmonize state privacy laws; developing tools and strategies to educate and engage consumers; developing a toolkit to educate providers; recommending basic security policy requirements; and developing inter-organizational agreements. 

“Each project is designed to develop common, replicable multi-state solutions that have the potential to reduce variation in and harmonize privacy and security practices, policies, and laws. 

“Click on the boxes below to view more details about the Collaboratives and their products.” 

EDUCATION         
Consumer Education and Engagement   Provider Education 

STATE LAW AND CONSENT POLICY
Harmonizing State Privacy Law   Intrastate and Interstate Consent Policy Options   InterState Disclosure and Patient Consent Requirements 

ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY
Inter-Organizational Agreements   Adoption of Standard Policies 

HISPC Reports on
State Law, Business Practices, and Policy Variations
 

“Conducted during 2009 as part of the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC), the following compendium of 5 reports detail variations in state law, business practices and policy related to privacy and security and the electronic exchange of health information.   For quick reference, several reports contain aggregate findings tables in their appendices.  Summaries of each report are below.” 

**For citation purposes, please use the date the reports were published and released to the public: January 13th, 2010.** 

Report on State Medical Record Access Laws [PDF - 308 KB] 

“This report analyzes state laws that are intended to require health care providers (specifically, medical doctors and hospitals) to afford individuals access to their own health information and to identify potential barriers to the electronic exchange of health information.  Specific state law provisions examined: scope of medical records to which patients are afforded access, format of information furnished, deadlines for responding to requests, fees for furnishing copies, record retention laws and access to records of minors.”

Report on State Law Requirements for Patient Permission to Disclose Health Information [PDF - 2.25 MB]
“In Phase I of the HISPC project a majority of participants reported significant variation in the business practices and policies surrounding the need for and process of obtaining patient permission to use and disclose personal health information for a variety of purposes, including for treatment. This report furthers the initial work of this project by collating and analyzing state laws that govern the disclosure of identifiable health information for treatment purposes to identify commonalities and differences.”
 
Releasing Clinical Laboratory Test Results: Report on Survey of State Laws [PDF - 1.38 MB]
“For this report, state statutes and regulations were analyzed to determine to whom clinical laboratories may release test results. This report focused on clinical laboratory and hospital licensing laws (that contain standards for hospital laboratories). It also examined general state medical record access laws to determine whether they provided an avenue for patients to access their clinical laboratory results directly.”

Report on State Prescribing Laws: Implications for e-Prescribing [PDF - 331 KB] 

“This report identifies and analyzes the impact and variation of state laws related to e-prescribing.  The report addresses state laws related to the e-prescribing of controlled and non-controlled substances as well as topics such as record keeping and content requirements, out-of-state prescriptions, and generic substitution laws.” 

Perspectives on Patient Matching: Approaches, Findings, and Challenges [PDF - 629 KB]
“This report analyzes various approaches to matching patients to their health information in the context of electronic health information exchange.  Current and potential methods for matching patients to their health records are discussed, challenges to performing patient matching such as scalability and ease of use are analyzed, and the types of information some HIOs use to match patients to their health records is described.”

HISPC Seminar Series in PDF Formats           
           Consumer Education and Engagement
           Provider Education Toolkit
           Interstate Disclosure and Patient Consent Requirements 
           Harmonizing State Privacy
           Intrastate and Interstate Consent Policy Options    Collaborative
           Adoption of Standards Policies 
           State Access and Disclosure Law Project
          Inter-Organizational Agreements

Delaware Valley, Western PA HIMSS members visit PA Legislators in Harrisburg, Invited to Testify

HIMSS of Delaware Valley and Western Pennsylvania Invited to Testify After HIMSS Members Visit PA Legislators in Harrisburg
This post originally appeared on the PAeHI blog.
HARRISBURG  (April 20, 2010)–After a full day series of meetings between 50 Pennsylvania state legislators and HIMSS members from Western Pennsylvania (WPHIMSS)  and Delaware Valley (DVHIMSS) chapters in the Pennslvania Capitol Building,  DVHIMSS Chapter President Tom Pacek was invited to speak at  the April 22, 2010 House Insurance Committee public hearing  about Health IT and Electronic Health Records in Ambler, PA.

The public hearing will review legislation authored by State Rep. Rick Taylor of Montgomery, titled the Health Information Technology Act (H.B. 2106). The bill would direct a portion of Pennsylvania’s HITECH funds to develop a database of electronic medical records in the state.

In the morning, Pennsylvania Senators Mike Folmer, Patricia Vance, Andrew Dinniman, Vincent Hughes, and John Wozniak participated in active discussions with HIMSS members in Senate offices.

The Senate meetings were followed by meetings with Pennsylvania Representatives Stan Taylor, Mike Turzai, Matt Baker, Josh Shapiro, Frank Oliver, and Mike Sturla  in House offices with HIMSS members to learn more about Health IT needs and legislative requirements in Pennsylvania.

The day started with  HIMSS delegates networking and speaking  in small groups with 40 legislators over casual breakfasts in Conference Room 60 in the Capitol complex.

In addition to their support for quality medical care, general legislators were concerned about the financial sustainability of Health Information Exchange setups, as well as privacy and security issues.

Meetings were followed by lunch at the Harrisburg Country Club, with HIMSS members, sponsors, and Philip W. Magistro, Deputy Director, Implementation from the Governor’s Office of Health Care Reform; and David Toth from Represenative Taylor’s office. The session reviewed the morning meetings, a culmination of Advocacy events planned by the two chapters leading up to today, and looked ahead to next steps with comments from Magistro and Toth.

The Health Insurance Committee hearing is open to the public and will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 22 at the Ambler Theater, located on 108 E. Butler Ave. in Ambler.  Pacek and one or two other HIMSS members are expected to testify.

Today’s sessions were part of The Third Annual PA Healthcare IT Advocacy Event co-sponsored by DVHIMSS and WPHIMSS, whose Chapter president is Bonnie B. Anton, RN, MN.  Additional organizers of this well-organized event will be named in a later version of this post.

Link to the Advocacy talking points “Better Care Through Information Technology” (pdf).
DVHIMSS Web site: http://dvhimss.org
WPHIMSS Web site: http://www.wpahimss.org

This post originally first appeared on the PAeHI blog.

CMS Awards Add’l $8.2 mil for Medicaid Health IT to Oregon, Puerto Rico, New Mexico, Washington, and Missouri

Five New CMS Awards for Health IT Programs for Medicaid
Brings Total to 37 State/Territory Medicaid Agencies

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced awards on April 26, 2010 totalling $8.2 million to Oregon, Puerto Rico, New Mexico, Washington, and Missouri for 90/10 Health IT  federal matching programs for state/territory Medicaid agencies, with CMS providing 90% of the matching funds. Oregon received the largest award of $3.53 million in this date. With these new awards, CMS has awarded a total of $58.4 million to 37 states and territories. See the five April 26, 2010 awards and amounts listed below. See previous post on e-Healthcare Marketing for prior list of awards and amount, as well as additional background.

As in previous announcements, CMS says that the Medicaid awardee “will use its federal matching funds for planning activities that include conducting a comprehensive analysis to determine the current status of HIT activities in the state. As part of that process, (the state or territory) will gather information on issues such as existing barriers to its use of EHRs, provider eligibility for EHR incentive payments, and the creation of a State Medicaid HIT Plan, which will define the state’s vision for its long-term HIT use.”

All award announcements  (April 26, 2010 and prior) can be viewed via a search of CMS press releases that this link launches. 

April 26, 2010 Medicaid HIT Awards

State        Amount
Oregon $3,530,000
Puerto Rico $1,800,000
Missouri $1,530,000
Washington $967,000
New Mexico $405,000
SubTotal 4/26/10 $8,232,000
Previous Awards $50,162,000
New Total $58,394,000

‘Building & Maintaining Sustainable HIE’ Webinar: Experience from Diverse Care Settings

AHRQ Sponsors May 14 Webinar on HIE with Frisse, Perez, and Fontaine
Building and Maintaining a Sustainable Health Information Exchange (HIE): Experience from Diverse Care Settings
RESCHEDULED TO FRI, MAY 14, 2010:
3:00 PM Eastern 2:00 PM Central, 1:00 PM Mountain, 12:00 PM Pacific

(Originally scheduled for April 26, 2010.)
Revised and excerpted from AHRQ Web site on April 26, 2010

This free 90-minute teleconference will explore successfully implemented HIE systems and efforts to improve patient care through sustainable electronic exchanges.”

Presenters:
Mark Frisse, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., “is Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University. He created and directed a federal- and state-sponsored HIE in the greater Memphis area with over 5 million records covering the care of over 1,200,000 individuals. He is co-chair of the Markle Foundation’s Connecting for Health Common Framework policy group developing model data sharing agreements as well as a member of the American Medical Association’s Health Information Policy Committee.”

 Gina Perez, M.P.A., “is President of Advances in Management, Inc., a management consulting firm. Since 2004, Advances in Management has been engaged by the Delaware Health Information Network to provide project direction for the Health Information Exchange Project—a statewide effort to create an interoperable health care system in Delaware.   In this role, Ms. Perez provides strategic direction and day-to-day executive management for the DHIN reporting to the Board of Directors.  In the spring of 2007, the Delaware Health Information Network went live and became the first statewide health information exchange in the nation.”

Patricia Fontaine,
M.D., M.S., “is Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She divides her time between teaching and clinical research… She also currently serves as president of the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians and chair of the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians.”

Webinar Summary
“Dr. Frisse will begin the teleconference by providing an overview of advances in developing sustainable HIEs. He will discuss factors that assisted Mid South eHealth Alliance’s successful HIE roll-out to multiple emergency departments and ambulatory care centers with a review of the challenges unique to this setting.  Ms. Perez will present strategies used by the Delaware Health Information Network to improve care for patients transitioning between care settings as well as their innovative efforts to reduce the cost of HIEs for providers and payers. Dr. Fontaine will conclude the presentations by examining barriers to participation in community-wide HIEs. She will explain the challenges faced by small and medium-sized primary care practices and her experiences working with these practices in Minnesota.”

Registration

HHS/ONC Name 28 Regional Extension Centers; 60 Total RECs to Convert 100,000 Primary Care Clinicians to EHR Users

$267 Million Added to Support 100,000 Primary Care Clinicians as Meaningful Users of Electronic Health Records Within Two Years
Tables with First and Second Round Awardees and Amounts
HHS Press Release announding release of $267 Million in Recovery Funds shown below in section after tables

On April 6, 2010, the Office of National Coordinator for Health IT announced the 28 organizations that won funding as Regional Extension Centers, each of which will be responsible for getting at least 1,000 primary care providers up-to-speed and using Electronic Health Records for meaningful use. Added to the first round of 32 awardees from February 2010, a total of 60 Extension Centers will be established. The centers, which will “provide hands-on, community-based support to accelerate the adoption of Health Information Technology” are named in two tables below, along with the amount of the awards. The national goal is to convert at least 100,000 primary care clinicians to meaningful use of Electronic Health Records within two years.

Excerpted from ONC’s Health Information Technology Extension page on April 6, 2010: “The HITECH Act authorizes a Health Information Technology Extension Program. The extension program consists of Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers (RECs) and a national Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC). The RECs will offer technical assistance, guidance, and information to support and accelerate health care providers’ efforts to become meaningful users of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The HITRC will be responsible for gathering relevant information on effective practices and help the RECs collaborate with one another and with relevant stakeholders to identify and share best practices in EHR adoption, effective use, and provider support.

“The RECs are designed to ensure that primary care clinicians who need help are provided with an array of on-the-ground support to meaningfully use electronic health records (EHRs). Providing training and support services, the RECs will assist doctors and other providers in the adoption and meaningful use of EHR systems. The REC program has coverage in virtually every geographic region of the United States, which ensures sufficient community-based support. The goal of the program is to provide outreach and support services to at least 100,000 priority primary care providers within two years.

“The REC cooperative agreements were awarded in two rounds with 32 awards announced in February 2010 and 28 in April 2010. The final number of RECs in the program is 60.”

Grantees in second series of awards (announced April 6, 2010)

REC Awardees Federal Share
Alaska eHealth Network, Anchorage, AK $3,632,357
University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL $7,519,969
Arizona Health-e Connection, Phoenix, AZ $10,791,644
Local Initiative Health Authority for Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA $15,625,910
eHealthConnecticut, Inc., Rocky Hill, CT $5,749,309
National Indian Health Board, Washington, DC $15,625,910
Quality Insights of Delaware, Inc., Wilmington, DE $5,859,716
University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL $7,669,328
Community Health Centers Alliance, Inc, St. Petersburg, FL $10,982,866
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL $5,884,132
Hawaii Health Information Exchange, Honolulu, HI $5,859,716
University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington, KY $6,005,467
Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum, Baton Rouge, LA $6,207,802
HealthInfoNet, Manchester, ME $4,777,483
Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients, Baltimore, MD $5,535,423
eQHealth Solutions, Inc , Baton Rouge, LA $4,289,613
The Curators of the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO $6,836,335
Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation, Helena, MT $5,020,754
New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ $23,048,351
Quality Insights of Pennsylvania, Inc. (Eastern), King of Prussia, PA $28,810,271
Quality Insights of Pennsylvania, Inc. (Western), King of Prussia, PA $15,625,910
Ponce School of Medicine, PR $19,280,795
South Carolina Research Foundation, Columbia, SC $5,581,407
Dakota State University, Madison, SD $5,687,168
The TAMUS Health Science Center Research Foundation. College Station, TX $5,279,970
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX $15,274,327
Dallas- Fort Worth Hospital Council Education and Research Foundation, Irving, TX $8,488,513
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Lubbock, TX $6,666,296
Total $267, 616, 742

Grantees in first series of awards (announced Feb 12, 2010)

RECs Awardee  Federal Share
 Arkansas Foundation For Medical Care

 $7,400,000

 Northern California Regional Extension Center

$17,286,081

 Southern California Regional Extension Center

$13,961,339

 Colorado RHIO

 $12,475,000

 District of Columbia Primary Care Association

 $5,488,437

 Health Choice Network, Inc., Florida

$8,500,000

 Morehouse School of Medicine, Inc., Georgia

$19,521,542

 Northern Illinois University

$7,546,000

 Northwestern University

$7,649,533

 Iowa IFMC

 $5,508,019

 Purdue University

$12,000,000

 Kansas Foundation for Medical Care Inc.

 $7,000,000

 Massachusetts Technology Park Cooperation

$13,433,107

 Altarum Institute, Michigan

$19,619,990

 Key Health Alliance (Stratis Health), Minnesota – North Dakota

 $19,000,000

 CIMRO of Nebraska

$6,647,371

 LCF Research, New Mexico

$6,175,000

 New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC)

 $26,534,999

 Fund for Public Health New York

$21,754,010

 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

$13,569,169

 Greater Cincinnati HealthBridge (Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana)

$9,738,000

 Ohio Health Information Partnership

 $28,500,000

 Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, Inc.

 $5,331,685

 OCHIN Inc. (Primary), Oregon

$13,201,499

 Rhode Island Quality Institute

 $6,000,000

 Qsource (Tennessee)

$7,256,155

 HealthInsight, Utah-Nevada

 $6,917,783

 Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc.

 $6,762,080

 VHQC and the Center for Innovative Technology, for The Virginia 
 Consortium

 $12,425,000

 Qualis Health, Washington – Idaho

$12,846,482

 West Virginia Health Improvement Institute Inc.

 $6,000,000

 MetaStar, Inc, Wisconsin

$9,125,000

   
Total

 $375,173,281

Press Release from HHS released April 6, 2010
HHS Announces $267 Million in Recovery Act Funds for New Health IT Regional Extension Centers

Grants to Provide Hands-On, Community-Based Support to Providers to Accelerate the Adoption of Health Information Technology

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that more than $267 million has been awarded to 28 additional non-profit organizations to establish Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers (RECs). This investment, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will help grow the emerging health information technology (health IT) industry which is expected to support tens of thousands of jobs ranging from nurses and pharmacy techs to IT technicians and trainers.

RECs enable health care practitioners to reach out to a local resource for technical assistance, guidance, and information on best practices. RECs are designed to address unique community requirements and to support and accelerate provider efforts to become meaningful users of electronic health records.

“Health care in our country is community-based. Today’s awards represent our ongoing commitment to make sure that health providers have the necessary support within their communities to maximize the use of health IT to improve the care they provide to their patients,” said Secretary Sebelius.

This round of awards, bringing the total number of REC’s to 60, will provide nationwide outreach and technical support services to at least 100,000 primary care providers and hospitals within two years. The primary care provider is usually the first medical practitioner contacted by a patient. Studies have also found that primary care providers are at the forefront of practicing preventative medicine, a key to improving population health and reducing overall health costs. More than $375 million had been awarded earlier to RECs under this program.

Additionally, all REC awardees, those announced today and the 32 announced on Feb. 12, 2010, now have an opportunity to apply for a two-year expansion supplemental award. The supplemental awards would ensure that health IT support services are available to over 2,000 of the nation’s critical access hospitals and rural hospitals, both defined as having 50 beds or less. Approximately $25 million is available through this supplemental expansion program.

“Regional extension centers will provide the needed hands-on, field support for all health care providers to advance the rapid adoption and use of health IT. RECs are a vital part of our overall efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of health care through the effective use of health IT,” said Dr. David Blumenthal, national coordinator for health information technology.

Today’s awards are part of the $2 billion effort by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to achieve widespread meaningful use of health IT and provide use of an electronic health record by every person by the year 2014.
#        #      #

CMS Conference Presentations on Multi-State Health IT Collaborative Posted

CMS Second Annual Multi-State Health IT Collaborative for E-Health Conference
February 8–9, 2010:  Agenda and Presentations Posted
Washington, DC
This Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) conference focused on federal-state collaboration on the HITECH rollout of electronic health records and health information exchange, and how Medicare and Medicaid Health IT programs and other ONC initiatives worked together.  News, agenda, and the 20 presentations are posted below.

According to HIMSS News of February 12, 2010, 35 states had summitted State Medicaid HIT Plans for to receive planning funds for the Medicaid portion of the EHR Incentive Program.  As HIMSS News explained “Plans are required to include the current HIT landscape in the state, the State’s Five-Year Vision for incorporating multiple resources (HIEs, Medicaid resources, local and state-wide resources, etc.), and the State’s vision for Oversight and Implementation.” As of March 24, 2010, 32 state (or territory) Medicaid programs had been awarded a total of $50 million for the 90/10 Medicaid Admin program. (See e-Healthcare Marketing post for table of states and amounts awarded.)

e-Healthcare Marketing has excerpted and posted the full agenda for the two-day conference and the 20 presentations, all of which appeared useful in more fully understanding the role of CMS and the states. 
“CMS Second Annual Conference Site”:  Materials
Program Agenda for both days in pdf format.

PROGRAM AGENDA–DAY ONE
Monday, February 8, 2010 (pdf  version for Day One)

Welcome Remarks
This welcome session will highlight the importance of States in E-Health and will preview many of the health information technology (HIT) discussions planned throughout the conference, including priorities and lessons learned about promoting Electronic Health Record (EHR)/Health Information Technology adoption and key implementation issues for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
–Teresa Niño, Director, Office of External Affairs, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
–Cynthia Mann, Director, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS

Concurrent Sessions I
Establishing Health Information Exchange Governance*
*(As a result of last-minute agenda changes, this session was combined with Health Information Technology and Exchange Planning.)
This session will provide guidance and tips on the different models of HIE governance that States could consider and the impacts/considerations for each.
Co-Moderators:
–Julie Alberino, Technical Director Region II, CMS
–Lee Stevens, Regional Manager, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
Speaker:
–Anthony Rodgers, Principal, Health Management Associates

Health Information Technology and Exchange Planning
(As a result of last-minute agenda changes, this session was combined with Establishing Health Information Exchange Governance.)
This session will outline important steps and considerations when planning for HIT/E projects, including legal issues, stakeholder involvement, existing infrastructure, and how CMS 90/10 FFP can be applied to the different models.
Speakers:
–Kelly Cronin, Director, Office of Programs and Coordination, ONC
–Denise Bazemore, Technical Director for State Systems, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
–Denise Webb, State Health IT Coordinator, Wisconsin Department of Health Services
–Jonah Frohlich, Deputy Secretary of Health Information Technology, California Health and Human Services Agency

Role of Managed Care in Health Information Technology and Exchange
This session will outline how Medicaid Managed Care Organizations can facilitate and support HIT/EHR promotion and the success of the Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
Moderator:
–Michelle Mills, Policy Analyst, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
Speakers:
–Dr. Kenneth Yale, Executive Director, AmeriChoice
–Lawrence Clark, SMHP Director, Pennsylvania Medicaid

Health Information Exchange Financing
This session will focus on the parameters of the CMS 90/10 administrative matching funds for statewide HIEs, ONC HIE’s funding, and will also present sustainable HIE financing from other sources.
Speakers:
–Rick Friedman, Director, Division of State Systems, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
–Mat Kendall, Acting Director of the Office of Provider Adoption Support, ONC
–Jack Shafer, West Virginia Primary Care Network

The CMS HITECH Proposed Rule
This session will offer the Federal perspective on the Medicaidrelated portions of the NPRM, CMS expectations, and what areas States need to focus on in the short term. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions of the CMS panel members, who will do their best to answer, with the caveat that the rule is proposed, not final.
Moderator/Speaker:
–Rick Friedman, Director, Division of State Systems, Centers for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
Panel:
–Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for HIT, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
–Donna Schmidt, Technical Director for Quality, Evaluation & Health Outcomes, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
–Michelle Mills, Health Policy Analyst, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
–Judith Haron, Attorney, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Office Hours: Talk With the Experts
These smaller, informal sessions are for you to ask the experts questions on HITECH implementation. These roundtable sessions are designed to be interactive. Please sign up in advance when you register onsite.
A. CMS 90/10 Financing for HITECH Implementation
Experts:
–Denise Bazemore, Technical Director, CMS
–Rick Friedman, Director, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
Pose questions about possible uses of the CMS 90/10 Administrative funding. Note that CMS will discuss our guiding principles for use of this funding, but answers are not in lieu of an approved P-APD or IAPD.

B. Technical Assistance Resources for State Agencies
Experts:
–Sherry Armstead, Technical Director, CMS
–Erin Grace, Senior Manager of HIT, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
–Mark Yanick, Public Health Analyst, Health Resources and Services Administration
Ask questions and receive detailed responses about the currently available and soon-to-be available federally funded technical assistance resources for State Agencies.

C. MMIS/MITA and HIT Integration
Experts:
–Dr. James Figge, Medical Director, New York State Department of Health
How do MITA and HITECH intersect? Ask a CMS and State representative how the MITA framework can be successfully applied to your State’s expanding HIT/E activities.

D. Approved CMS P-APDs & First Steps
Experts:
Lawrence Clark, SMHP Director, Pennsylvania Medicaid
Hear from other States that have approved HITECH P-APDs and ask about first steps, planning methodologies, how they hope to coordinate with their ONC HIE cooperative agreements, etc.

E. CMS Expectations for State Medicaid HIT Plans
Experts:
–Julie Alberino, Technical Director, CMS
–Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for HIT, CMS
–Michelle Mills, Health Policy Analyst, CMS
–Donna Schmidt, Technical Director for Quality, Evaluation & Health Outcomes, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
Talk to your CMS colleagues about the expected contents of State Medicaid HIT Plans. Ask questions about revamping older plans, starting from scratch, and/or how the Medicaid plans intersect with the ONC HIE plans.

Promoting Electronic Health Records Adoption/ Communications/ Outreach
This session will focus on strategies to encourage EHR adoption, and communication and outreach about the EHR efforts and identify effective messaging and roles for States.
–Christina Nye, Division Director, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration
–David Collins, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society
–Mat Kendall, ONC

DAY TWO AGENDA
February 9, 2010  (pdf Version)

The Word From ONC: Health Information Technology and Health Care Transformation
Moderator:
–Alan Weil, Executive Director, National Academy for State Health Policy
Speaker:
–Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health IT, ONC

Maximizing Federal Health Information Technology and Exchange Funding
This session will focus on available Federal resources for HIT/E to States and how to best leverage them to achieve broad HIT/EHR adoption and achieve the goals of the HITECH Act. Speakers will identify for States the funding available for the different components of HIT/E development and maintenance.
Moderator:
–Patricia MacTaggart, Lead Research Scientist, George Washington University
Speakers:
–Kelly Cronin, Director, Office of Programs and Coordination, ONC
–Rick Friedman, Director, Division of State Systems, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
–Susan Lumsden, Director, Division of State and Community Assistance, Office of Health Information Technology, Health Resources and Services Administration

CONCURRENT SESSIONS II
Lessons Learned and Best Practices for Medicaid Health Information Technology Promotion
This session will highlight critical lessons learned and 20/20 hindsight from State Medicaid Agencies who have been working on HIT/EHR adoption projects.
Moderator:
–Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for HIT, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
Speakers:
–Dr. James Figge, Medical Director, New York State Department of Health
–Kim Davis-Allen, Alabama Medicaid
–Anthony Rodgers, Principal, Health Management Associates

Provider Readiness—Large, Small, and Solo Practices
This session will focus on challenges to HIT/EHR adoption facing providers in various practice sizes and how to best tailor your State’s approach to each as you implement the EHR Incentive Program.
Moderator:
–Nikki Highsmith, Senior Vice President for Programs, Center for Health Care Strategies
Speakers:
–Dr. Jonathan White, Health IT Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
–Dr. Sarah Chouinard, Medical Director, Community Health Network of West Virginia
–Dr. Farzad Mostashari, Senior Advisor to the National Coordinator, ONC

CONCURRENT SESSIONS III
CMS Draft Guiding Principles for Use of the 90/10 Administration Funds
After approval of the HIT P-APD and the State Medicaid HIT Plan (SMHP), State Medicaid Agencies will focus next on the activities necessary for implementing their EHR Incentive Program. This session will highlight key issues concerning implementation and offer an opportunity for Q&As from the audience.
Speakers:
–Rick Friedman, Director, Division of State Systems, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
–Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for HIT, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS
–Michelle Mills, Health Policy Analyst, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, CMS

Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) and Health Information Technology Integration and Coordination
This session will provide insight into the role of States’ MMIS systems and MITA as well as the future of HIT/E efforts in light of States’ implementation of the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.
Moderator:
–Denise Bazemore, Technical Director for State Systems, CMS
Speakers:
–Robert Guenther, Technical Director for MITA, CMS
–Dr. James Figge, Medical Director, New York State Department of Health
–Carol Robinson, HIT Coordinator, State of Oregon

 Harmonization of Privacy and Security for Health Information Exchange
This session will focus on how States could assess and address overlapping privacy and security issues related to HIE as they pertain to Federal and State laws, and beneficiary perceptions.
Moderator:
–Joy Pritts, J.D., Research Associate/Professor, Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University (since meeting moved to Chief Privacy Offficer, ONC)
Speaker:
–LaRah Payne, Senior Policy Analyst/Privacy Officer, District of Columbia Medicaid

Presentations in pdf format
The final conference presentations (20) are available for download and viewing in PDF format on the CMS Conference site. 
Links to the 20 presentations in PDF format are also available below. 

CMS Awards Total of $50 Million to 32 State Medicaid EHR Programs

CMS Awards Total of $50 Million to 32 State Medicaid Programs
for Electronic Health Records Incentive Program
The six state Medicaid programs that received federal matching funds for electronic health record incentive program announced March 24, 2010 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) were the latest in  the series of 32 states since November 2009 that were awarded a total of $50,162,000. That’s according to a search of CMS press releases on March 29, 2010. 

See the alphabetical list below with amounts awarded and dates of the press releases.

As an example, the press release for North Carolina, one of the states receiving matching funds on March 24, 2010 received $2.29 million and one of the higher amounts, said “The Recovery Act provides a 90 percent federal match for state planning activities to administer the incentive payments to Medicaid providers, to ensure their proper payments through audits and to participate in statewide efforts to promote interoperability and meaningful use of EHR technology statewide and, eventually, across the nation.”

According to a recent presentation by CMS,  the Statutory Conditions of Use of the 90/10 HITECH Admin Funds are three fold, and vary based on the specific plan proposed by the state and agreed to by CMS:
“1. Administration of incentives, including tracking of meaningful use by Medicaid EPs and eligible hospitals;
2. Oversight, including routine tracking of meaningful use attestations and reporting mechanisms; and
3. Pursuing initiatives to encourage the adoption of certified EHR technology for the promotion of health care quality and the exchange of health care information.”

According to the report by Bernie Monegain in Healthcare IT News on March 25, 2010, ”Colorado will use its federal matching funds for planning activities that include conducting a comprehensive analysis to determine the current status of healthcare information technology activities in the state.” In addition to Colorado and North Carolina, the other state Medicaid EHR awards announced on March 24, 2010 were Mississippi, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.

The midpoint of the 32 awards was about $1.4 million, with New York’s Medicaid program (announced December 24, 2010) receiving the largest, $5.91 million.

CMS Matching Funds for EHRs

State        Amount            Date
Alabama $269,000 2/26/2010
Alaska $900,000 1/21/2010
Arizona $2,890,000 2/26/2010
Arkansas $815,000 2/26/2010
California $2,480,000 12/9/2009
Colorado $798,000 3/24/2010
Florida $1,690,000 2/26/2010
Georgia $3,170,000 12/9/2009
Idaho $142,000 12/9/2009
Illinois $2,180,000 2/26/2010
Iowa $1,160,000 11/23/2009
Kansas $1,700,000 2/26/2010
Kentucky $2,600,000 1/21/2010
Maine $1,400,000 2/26/2010
Michigan $1,520,000 2/26/2010
Mississippi $1,470,000 3/24/2010
Montana $239,000 12/9/2009
Nebraska $894,000 2/26/2010
Nevada $1,050,000 3/24/2010
New York $5,910,000 12/9/2009
North Carolina $2,290,000 3/24/2010
Oklahoma $587,000 2/26/2010
Pennsylvania $1,420,000 1/4/2010
South Carolina $1,480,000 1/21/2010
Tennessee $2,700,000 1/4/2010
Texas $3,860,000 12/9/2009
US Virgin Islands $232,000 12/9/2009
Utah $396,000 3/24/2010
Vermont $294,000 2/26/2010
Virginia $1,660,000 2/26/2010
Wisconsin $1,370,000 1/21/2010
Wyoming $596,000 3/24/2010
TOTAL  $50,162,000  

Source: CMS Site Press Releases

For additional information on CMS role in conjunction with ONC on Health IT Initiative, see e-Healthcare Marketing post on February 2010 conference.

NJ Awarded $11.4 Million Grant for Electronic Health Records

NJ Awarded $11.4 Million Grant for Electronic Health Records
March 25, 2010 Press Release from Poonam Alaigh, MD, MSHCPM, FACP, Acting Commissioner, NJ Dept of Health and Senior Services: 
 ”New Jersey will receive $11.4 million in federal funds over the next four years to fund electronic health records projects that will allow hospitals, doctors and health insurance companies to share electronic medical records in real time over secure networks.

(Update: Dr. Alaigh was sworn in as commissioner on March 26, 2010.)

“The state will work with the health care industry to create four regional Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) that will share information such as lab results and medication histories among health care providers around the state. HIEs hold the promise of improving health care quality and efficiency by eliminating duplicative testing, avoiding dangerous medication interactions and providing information about patient histories with other facilities that will help physicians improve care.

“The funding, awarded under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, moves the state closer to the national goal of achieving interoperable electronic health records transfer capability by the year 2014.

“The Department of Health and Senior Services led a multi-departmental effort to apply for the grant and to jointly submit a state plan for Health Information Technology.

“Health and Senior Services Commissioner Dr. Poonam Alaigh and Banking and Insurance Commissioner Tom Considine explained that the goal of the initiative is to increase patient safety and reduce medical costs. The Department of Human Services, which runs the state’s Medicaid program, is also involved in the initiative.

“‘The real-time exchange of clinical data among health-care providers represents a central pillar of health-care reform,’ said Dr. Alaigh. ‘If we’re going to get serious about reducing costs, if we’re going to get serious about managing patients with chronic disease, and if we’re going to get serious about coordinating care, then accurate and robust data at the point of care is fundamental.’

“Commissioner Considine said, ‘These infrastructure projects are important building blocks in creating a network-wide electronic health records system,’ said Commissioner Considine. ‘These projects will help lead the way toward better and safer medical care for the people of New Jersey.’

“‘When we began this effort more than a decade ago, we knew it would be an ambitious undertaking,’ said Commissioner Considine. ‘An electronic health records system translates to important cost savings for hundreds of thousands of people.’

“When these projects are completed by March 2014, treatments including diagnostic tests such as legally required lead screening for children will be tracked, preventing unnecessary duplicate services. Another benefit of electronic health records is that any possible adverse reactions, such as drug allergies, would be known by the treating medical staff.

“New Jersey’s work on health information technology began in 1999 with the establishment of the Office for Electronic Health Information Technology (e-HIT). As required by ARRA, all states must develop a health IT network that registers every citizen by the end of 2015.

“The grant award marks the culmination of a process among several departments of state government and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The Statewide Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program—offered by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology—required states to submit state Health IT Plans that addressed several issues, including privacy, security, and technical infrastructure.

“The four exchanges that received funding have statewide coverage and were selected last fall through a competitive Request for Application process.”

Key Issues Designing/Developing Statewide Technical Infrastructure Webinar: State HIE Toolkit Part Two

“Key Issues in Designing and Developing Statewide Technical Infrastructure” Webinar
[ONC’s State HIE Toolkit: Part Two
“Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done”]
The March 15, 2010 Webinar on  State HIE Technical Infrastructure was the third in the “2010 State HIE Leadership Forum Webinar Series Presented by the State Level HIE Consensus Project under the auspices of the ONC State HIE Program.” The series is listed on the Presentation and Webinars Archive Page of the State Health Information Exchange Leadership Forum, and is associated with the State HIE Toolkit. (For more on the Toolkit, see earlier post on e-Healthcare Marketing.) Additional presentations from the Archives section of the State Leadership Forum are listed below Webinar series.

Archived Technical Assistance Webinars

Key Issues in Designing and Developing Statewide Technical Infrastructure – March 15, 2010 

  • Webinar Slides
  • Webinar Recording (you will need the recording id and attendee key below to access this recording)
    • Recording ID: NRNB59
    • Attendee Key: 3!_zQGc

Addressing Key Issues in Effective Strategic and Operational Planning & Establishing Governance – March 5, 2010

  • Webinar Slides
  • Webinar Recording (you will need the recording id and attendee key below to access this recording)
    • Recording ID: 5JJ6B7
    • Attendee Key: qC7X_(W

State HIE Program Webinar – January 5, 2010

Archived SLHIE Project Presentations & Webinars

These are additional 2010 presentations below from SLHIE project.
“HIT and HIE Transforming the Health Care Landscape–States at the Forefront,”
CHIMA-HIMSS Advocacy Day, January 20, 2010

HIE Governance for Arkansas — Key State-level Roles and Functions, Strategic and Operational Considerations,” presentation to Arkansas Governance Work Group, January 15, 2010

eHI Connecting Communities about Leadership Forum,” presentation at eHI, January 11, 2010

HIE Governance for Arkansas — Key State-level Roles and Functions, Strategic and Operational Considerations, ” Arkansas HIT Executive Committee Meeting, January 8, 2010