Indiana Health Information Technology???s goal is to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care by advancing Indiana???s position as a leader in sustainable, secure, standards-based health information exchange. The State of Indiana will use the Cooperative Agreement Program (CAP) funding to achieve this goal by fulfilling five objectives: (i) Establish a governance structure that achieves broad-based stakeholder collaboration with transparency, buy-in and trust; (ii) Identify a path to continued sustainability by managing financial resources necessary to fund the State???s HIE Strategic Plan and Operational Plan; (iii) Expand the technical infrastructure services that physically enable Health Information Exchange in a secure and appropriate manner; (iv) Expand upon the collaborative efforts between existing HIEs, the state, and regional extension centers to enhance health information exchange capacity within the state and enable ???meaningful use??? by providers statewide; and (v) Facilitate adoption of appropriate privacy and security frameworks to expand upon the existing interstate health information exchange. This approach will generate four critical outcomes that ultimately advance the quality of Indiana???s health care delivery system: (i) The development of Indiana Health Information Technology, Inc., a state-designated audit, contract, and coordination entity that reflects broad stakeholder representation; (ii) The build-out of required health information exchange capabilities and services as required by CAP; (iii) Continued cultivation of a robust statewide network among the existing regional health information organizations (HIOs); and (iv) the expansion of HIE services to underserved areas.
Indiana is fortunate to have five independent, private-sector, regionally-based HIOs, each of which has been operational and sustainable for at least five years. Through these five exchanges, more than 12 million patient records and 12,000 physicians statewide are part of Indiana???s HIE networks. Key unifying priorities within the Indiana HIE Program will be a continual emphasis upon HIO board participation/observation, a deep commitment to compliance oversight, and an arms-length grant or contracting relationship with private sector parties. The State of Indiana believes this approach will promote collaboration and innovations among the state???s five HIOs and, ultimately, enhance healthcare delivery.
At the outset, the Indiana HIE Program will focus upon advancing statewide availability and adoption of exchange services which include: (i) electronic eligibility and claims transactions; (ii) electronic prescribing and refill requests; (iii) electronic laboratory ordering and results delivery; (iv) electronic public health reporting (e.g., immunizations); (v) quality reporting; (vi) prescription fill status and/or medication fill history; and (vii) clinical summary exchange for care coordination and patient engagement. Program success will be measured by the availability and adoption of HIE services statewide by the provider community. The governance, policy, and technical infrastructure of the Indiana HIE Program will adapt as needed to meet any changes to meaningful use requirements, ensuring the continued expansion of secure health information exchanges according to nationally recognized standards. As availability and adoption of these critical services increase, the State of Indiana expects to see significant health care cost savings and improved health outcomes for people in the State of Indiana.
