Friday, November 22, 2024
11/22/2024
Project Title: Georgia???s Health Information Exchange States included in the application: Georgia Applicant Name: Georgia Department of Community Health Address: 2 Peachtree Street, NW, Atlanta Georgia 30303 Contact name: Dr. Carladenise Edwards Contact phone numbers: 404.656.7993 Fax: 404.651.6880 E-mail address: cedwards@dch.ga.gov Web Site Address: www.dch.ga.gov Congressional Districts within your service area: All DUNS Number: 142661680 PROJECT ABSTRACT The Georgia Department of Community (DCH) submits this application for the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement in collaboration with Georgia???s Electronic Health Record (EHR) partners. Georgia seeks to advance electronic health information exchange (HIE) for the purposes of improving health care quality, efficiency, and delivery. DCH and its EHR partners have made significant progress in the area of Health Information Technology and Transparency (HITT) over the past several years. In October of 2006, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed an executive order creating Georgia???s HITT Advisory Board. The Board has advised DCH on issues related to HITT and facilitated the adoption of Georgia???s HITT Strategic Plan in 2007, provided oversight to the HIE grants supported by Georgia???s General Assembly, and provided consultation on the development of Georgia???s Health Care Transparency Web site which provides objective health information to consumers at www.georgiahealthinfo.gov. DCH is requesting planning and implementation funds to support the state???s on-going efforts to transform health care by expanding the use of EHRs and creating the infrastructure for HIE at the local, state, and national levels. As the state entity responsible for meeting the public health needs of all 9,685,744 Georgians, the primary health care needs of 1,587,055 Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids members and 693,179 members of the State Employee Health Plan, we are highly motivated to leverage our existing state resources to ensure the successful implementation of each of the health information exchange programs outlined in the HITECH Act, including the development of an HIE through this cooperative agreement; the launching of a Regional Extension Center in partnership with the National Center for Primary Care housed at Georgia???s historic Morehouse School of Medicine; and implementation of the financial incentive programs described in the act and the recently posted letter to State Medicaid Directors dated September 1, 2009. The State HIE Cooperative Agreement Program will allow Georgia to enhance its existing strategic plan and to build an operational plan. In order to address the five domains outlined in the cooperative agreement, DCH proposes spending the first three months amending our strategic plan and building an operational plan that will result in consensus among Georgia???s stakeholders on the most efficient, cost-effective, sustainable and technically plausible approach for standing up a HIE that ensures providers are able to meet the meaningful use criteria in accordance with national policy guidelines. Upon completion of the strategic plan, the team will move swiftly into the implementation phase resulting in the development of a governance structure, financial sustainability plan, and an operational HIE. The legal and policy barriers will be addressed and a strong business case will be developed to ensure successful execution on the financial sustainability plan. To date, DCH has received considerable commitment from Georgia???s key health care stakeholders who have agreed to actively participate in the planning and implementation phases of the project.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
