Author: Jessica Hagins
Sam Thompson to Serve as New Executive Director of the N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority
We are pleased to announce that Sam Thompson has accepted the offer to become the next executive director of the NC HIEA, following the promotion of former executive director Christie Burris to state chief data officer.
Thompson most recently served as the deputy director for program evaluation at NC Medicaid. In that role, Thompson oversaw quality measurement, data collection and internal and external program evaluation efforts. He also previously served as a lead evaluator at the N.C. Division of Public Health.
Thompson has worked closely with the NC HIEA for several years and has championed the use of NC HealthConnex by Medicaid and the health care community. He will assume his new role on Monday, March 4, 2024.
Michelle Hunt Promoted to Assistant Director, Operations
We are pleased to announce that Michelle Hunt, formerly the data quality lead for the NC HIEA, has been promoted to assistant director, operations, following Michael Crist’s retirement on Feb. 1, 2024. Hunt took over this position on Feb. 12.
Hunt joined the NC HIEA in 2019 and has worked to improve the quality of the clinical data submitted to NC HealthConnex. She works closely with participants, vendors, state agencies and our technical partner SAS Institute to support data integration, production support and outbound services. As a former clinical laboratory professional with more than 10 years of experience in health IT, Michelle is well-suited to undertake this leadership challenge.
NC HIEA Welcomes New Advisory Board Members
The N.C. House of Representatives and N.C. Senate appointed four new members to the NC HIEA Advisory Board in December. They began in February with our first quarter board meeting of 2024.
These new members replace our outgoing members, former chair Dr. William Way, former vice chair Donette Herring, Carolyn Spence and Dr. Neal Chawla.
U.S. House Appointees:
Tanya Thompson, Representative of a Critical Access Hospital. Tanya is a CHIME CHCIO professional with over 27 years of health care and technology management experience. She is currently the vice president of IS applications at ECU Health.
Ryan Craig, Representative of a Health System or Integrated Delivery Network. Ryan is currently the vice president of analytics at Lumeris, where he focuses on providing value-based care solutions for health systems across the United States. He has over 25 years of experience in information technology, data warehousing, analytics and data management.
N.C. Senate Appointees:
John Meier, MD, MBA, MSQM, CPE, Representative of Licensed Physicians. Dr. Meier is a practicing internist and pediatrician at Wake Internal Medicine Consultants, Inc. in Raleigh, NC. He currently serves as the president-elect of the board of directors of the North Carolina Medical Society and is on the board of Carolina Complete Health and Key Physicians and the North Carolina Medical Care Commission.
Ryan Wilkins, Representative of Behavioral Health Providers. Ryan Wilkins is the senior database administrator at Crossnore Communities for Children and a senior consultant for Cansler Collaborative Resources. He has worked with behavioral health agencies for two decades in numerous capacities, ranging from direct care to agency consulting.
What Can My Practice Do with a Full Participation Agreement (Even If We’re Not Yet Live)?
The HIE Act requires that all health care providers that receive state funds, such as Medicaid or the State Health Plan, for the provision of health services submit demographic and clinical information to the network. A Submission Only Participation Agreement allows providers to meet the requirement of the HIE Act to submit this data from their EHR to NC HealthConnex.
While this submission is beneficial to reducing some reporting burdens to NC Medicaid and helping public health initiatives, the ultimate benefit of NC HealthConnex lies in the ability of provider to access patient data across the care continuum. This access is possible through a Full Participation Agreement.
The NC HIEA’s value-added services are available to providers who have signed a Full Participation Agreement and a Business Associates Agreement. These services are available at no additional cost.
As soon as you have your signed and executed agreement returned to you, you can begin training and use of any of the services listed below. You do not need to wait for your connection to be live or even for your connection project to begin before taking advantage of these services.
Have access to a more comprehensive view of health records for patients with whom you have a treatment relationship through the NC HealthConnex Clinical Portal, through a bi-directional connection or through single sign-on through your EHR. This includes access to records from over 145 hospitals and thousands of ambulatory care settings in North Carolina and out-of-state through eHealth Exchange and the Patient Centered Data HomeTM.
NC*Notify is a subscription-based, real-time Event Notification Service (ENS) that alerts providers when their patients have received care in other care settings, such as an emergency department. This Admission, Discharge and Transfer (ADT) data also assists providers with transitional care management such as when their patient leaves or enters a residential care setting.
Controlled Substance Reporting System (CSRS)
NC HealthConnex provides an additional pathway for providers and pharmacists to access the state’s prescription drug monitoring program, the N.C. Controlled Substance Reporting System, to help combat the opioid epidemic in North Carolina. This integration allows providers to check prescription history prior to prescribing, per requirements in the STOP Act.
The NC HIEA proudly partners with the N.C. Division of Public Health to deliver reporting through the following public health registries:
- North Carolina Immunization Registry (NCIR)
- Electronic Lab Reporting
- N.C. Diabetes Specialized Public Health Registry
This encrypted email tool allows clinicians to send protected health information (PHI) about patients to other providers with whom they share patients to improve care coordination. To request a DSM address, contact the SAS Help Desk at HIESupport@sas.com.
Promoting Interoperability and Meaningful Use
Using many of these services, such as NC*Notify, can help providers meet specific requirements and measures set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
We also offer a series of on-demand, online training modules for our full participants to help you and your organization get the most out of NC HealthConnex.
The goal of health information exchanges, like the state-designated network, NC HealthConnex, is to reduce duplicative testing and administrative burden and to improve patient outcomes and care coordination. With these value-added services, providers can take full advantage of all the benefits of interoperability.
If you are interested in these services and would like to speak with someone on the NC HealthConnex team, please email hiea@nc.gov.
New SAMSA Ruling Regarding Changes to 42 CFR Part 2
Earlier this month, the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released their Final Rule on Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records under section 3221 of the CARES Act.
The comment period was closed over a year ago and had over 200 commentors, including the N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority. Input was also given by providers through the Civitas Networks for Health. Those recommendations appear to have been considered in the final text.
HHS has highlighted a list of major changes to the 42 CFR Part 2 final rules. Some of these changes that may impact how health information exchanges operate include the following:
Patient Consent
- Allows a single consent for all future uses and disclosures for treatment, payment and health care operations.
- Allows HIPAA covered entities and business associates that receive records under this consent to redisclose the records in accordance with the HIPAA regulations.
- Requires a separate patient consent for the use and disclosure of SUD counseling notes.
- Requires that each disclosure made with patient consent include a copy of the consent or a clear explanation of the scope of the consent.
Other Uses and Disclosures
- Permits disclosure of records without patient consent to public health authorities, provided that the records disclosed are de-identified according to the standards established in the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
- Restricts the use of records and testimony in civil, criminal, administrative and legislative proceedings against patients, absent patient consent or a court order.
Segregation of Part 2 Data: Adds an express statement that segregating or segmenting Part 2 records is not required.
These changes go into effect on April 16, 2024, and have a compliance date of February 16, 2026. See this DHHS fact sheet for more information.
Connex Kudos
“I use the portal to look up labs, test results [and] consult notes from other providers for quality reporting. This data is provided to insurance companies and other agencies. I also use it to see if the patient has changed practices or has seen specialists. It provides an accurate picture of where the patient has been in their health care journey while saving valuable time and research.”
-FQHC Case Manager