Progress
The North Carolina Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA) is progressing on all fronts! We continue to seek stakeholder input as we work to improve the NC HIE’s value to the health care community and communicate its role in Medicaid reform.
As North Carolina Medical Society Executive Director Bob Seligson wrote in a June 26 column in the North State Journal, “Much work needs to be done to ensure that doctors, hospitals and health systems are financially and technologically able to tap into the HIE in order to submit and retrieve information on behalf of their patients. Success will mean a healthier bottom line for the Medicaid program and, most importantly, a healthier population.” We couldn’t agree more, which is why the NC HIEA team is taking a measured approach in building a solid, sustainable foundation that assists participants in providing the best care possible.
Read on to learn more about the progress being made connecting providers, the NC HIEA’s business operations, and expanding its value through functionality enhancements.
Current Connections
Over the last five months, we have built 74 data connections (including 13 hospitals) with providers who were previously connected to the HIE operated by Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC). These data connections are allowing 774 facilities in North Carolina to exchange patient data.
Where additional participants are in the onboarding process:
- Technical Discussion – 44 (both participants and EMR vendors)
- Testing Underway – 23
- Intake Process - 94
- Participation Agreement Sent – legacy participants of CCNC – 466 – of these 96 were previously sending data
- Participation Agreements Received – 332 – of these 58 were previously sending data
Additionally, we are in active discussions with several EMR vendors on technical and legal solutions to enable integrated connections to provide one, multi-tenant connection to the NC HIE for their customers. As these arrangements become more formalized, health care providers will be able to connect and submit clinical and demographic data to the NC HIE via their EMR system. More to come on this exciting, new development.
- What does connected mean? To meet the state’s mandate, a Medicaid provider is “connected” when its clinical and demographic information pertaining to services paid for by Medicaid and other State-funded health care funds are being sent to the NC HIE at least twice daily – either through a direct connection to the NC HIE or via a hub (i.e. a larger system with which it participates, another HIE, or EHR vendor). Participation agreements signed with the designated entity would need to list all affiliate connections.
Staff Announcement
We’re excited to welcome Darryl Meeks as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA). Formerly the Director of HIT with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Meeks was specifically sought out for this position due to his broad health care data and technology experience—including overseeing the State Health IT plan, Meaningful Use programs, and the Medicaid Incentive Payment System. He has also been a key member of the NC HIE transition, planning and migration team from day one. His previous background in directing clinical research technology and data management for Duke Clinical Research also will serve him well in his new role.
Meeks is committed to improving health care quality and outcomes, enhancing patient care, and reducing overall health care costs in North Carolina. We are confident he will continue the positive momentum that the NC HIEA has established in its early months.
Advisory Board Named
Two weeks before adjourning the Short Session, the NC General Assembly finalized the Advisory Board to the NC HIEA. (NCGS 90-414.7(b)(2)) We anticipate the first meeting in September.
We are pleased to welcome to the NC HIEA Advisory Board:
Mr. Jason Cagle, Vice President of Health Information Technology, Monarch Health
Dr. Allen Daugird, President & Chief Value Officer, UNC Physicians
Dr. Jeffrey M. Ferranti, Chief Information Officer, Duke Medicine
Mr. Thomas N. Friedman, Director of Policy, Planning, and Analysis, State Health Plan
Ms. Ruth Glaser, President, Pender Memorial Hospital
Mr. Russell T. Henderson, Consulting Systems Engineer, Cisco
Mr. Benjamin Money, President & CEO, NC Community Health Care Association
Dr. William G. Way, Director of Diagnostic Imaging Radiologist, Wake Radiology
Ex-Officio Members:
Secretary and State CIO Keith Werner, North Carolina Department of Information Technology
Secretary Rick Brajer, North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services
John Correllus, Director, North Carolina Government Data Analytics Center
NC HIE Portal Training
Progress is also being made to provide much-needed training materials to the NC HIE users. The NC HIEA User Guide is in its final stages. This 130-page how-to manual explains in layman’s terms the features available to users within the NC HIE Portal; how to use the DSM tool – Communicate Webmail; and provides the steps to utilize technical support available through the SAS Help Desk.
Currently connected users can expect to receive a phone call from NC HIEA Customer Service Specialist Alice Miller in August to set up a time to go over the training.
NC HIE Portal Enhancements Almost Complete
Work has been completed to enhance the user experience in the NC HIE portal to expand its clinical value. We anticipate the following features to be fully functional in mid- to late-August.
- Adding options to simplify breaking the privacy seal – Within the NC HIE portal, users must provide justification for access to patient records if no data relationship exists between the clinician and the patient. Providers will now have a drop down list of reasons to limit the data entry required by a portal user, resulting in an improved user experience.
- Integrating single sign-on for direct secure messaging via the portal – Previously, medical professionals using the NC HIE for direct secure messaging were required to log into both the portal and the DSM sites with different user credentials. The implementation of single sign on will reduce administrative burden for the medical professional resulting in more time for care giving.
- Enabling clinical notifications -The NC HIE portal will now deliver portal notifications to users when a patient’s record is updated from another participant (i.e. lab results, medication change, ER admittance).
- Providing a statewide provider directory (coming in September/October) – Through the NC HIE’s software provider Orion Health, the NC HIE has been provided the DirectTrust provider directory that will enable providers to look up and communicate safely and securely through web messaging.
Public Health Registries
The NC HIEA and NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) have recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to allow for public health data to flow through the NC HIE to the NC Division of Public Health. We know this is a priority for many providers across the state.
- NCIR - The NCIR pilot with UNC will complete in September.
- ELR – We are in ongoing dialogue with Public Health and NC HIE’s technical partner, SAS Institute, to determine the scope of this project. The ELR team within Public Health has a multitude of pilots going on and are ready to start testing with the NC HIE as the main data conduit hub to public health.
Questions? Call the HIEA business office at (919) 754-6912 or send an e-mail to hiea@nc.gov.
Thank you to the North Carolina Medical Society for their support of the NC HIEA in a recent column published in the statewide newspaper North State Journal. You can read it here.