NC HIEA January 2017 Update

Happy New Year! The North Carolina HEIA thanks NC HealthConnex participants and stakeholders for support in the first year of operation.

New Year, New Initiatives

Happy New Year from the NC Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA)! Our team would like to thank all NC HealthConnex participants and the numerous stakeholders for your support in the first year of operation.

Milestones to Date (by the numbers):

  • Data Connections: 125 (includes 20 hospitals, including the UNC Healthcare System and 23 county health departments)
  • Facilities Connected: 835
  • Unique Patient Records: 3.4 million
  • Signed Participation Agreements: 380

During the last quarter of 2016 the NC HIEA team continued to meet with stakeholders to educate about the State’s mandate to connect, while also seeking to listen to concerns regarding compliance, HIE adoption and usage, as well as future fees. Additionally, we held a productive Advisory Board meeting in December where several recommendations were made regarding data standards and data submission. Finally, the website has been redesigned with providers and patients in mind.

New Initiatives:

Legal Agreements -  As a result of the numerous stakeholder meetings around the state and Advisory Board recommendations, the NC HIEA made the decision to develop two Participation Agreements. Current participants are not required to sign the new Participation Agreement, but have the option to review and execute if appropriate for their organization.

  • The NC HIEA Full Participation Agreement, now aligned with federal standards – the Data Use and Reciprocal Support Agreement or DURSA – will allow providers full use of the NC HealthConnex current and future value-added features as well as provide for the State’s requirement for the submission of clinical and demographic data.
  • The Submission Only Participation Agreement, will enable a provider to submit the clinical and demographic data required by law in a one-way technical connection in order to be in compliance. However, this agreement will prohibit all other data exchange services including HIE query/data exchange and clinical registries.

Fees - The NC HIEA, in consultation with the Advisory Board, decided not to charge a fee for the submission of data to meet N.C.G.S. 90-414.4. The General Assembly believes in the value of a robust state-operated HIE and has committed $8 million annually to this endeavor. The NC HIEA’s focus for the next 12-18 months is on building connections and helping providers meet the mandate. As we develop a roadmap for future sustainability, fees related to the consumption of services will be vetted thoroughly with all stakeholders and recommended to the General Assembly before any final decisions are made.

Data Standards - NC HealthConnex will implement a scalable data standard that is based on the Meaningful Use Data Elements, the Continuity of Care Document (CCD), and Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (CCDA).

State law does not specify the data elements required to be submitted, but requires the NC HIEA to determine what data is necessary to advance the purposes of the bill which include facilitating care coordination and improving health care outcomes. So as not to increase burdens on providers the NC HIEA, in consultation with the Advisory Board, adopted a data standard that aligns with the current federal standards. Those that cannot meet the data target will attest that all available data is being sent. Over time, NC HealthConnex will implement a data quality program that will assess the relative richness of each Participant's submission based on their EHR’s capabilities.  We will aim to collect all Meaningful Use Data Elements within the Clinical Summary MU2 Summary Type, delivered via CCD within the CCDA:

  • Care Team Members
  • Date of Birth
  • Ethnicity
  • Patient Name
  • Preferred Language
  • Race
  • Sex
  • Care plan field(s), including goals and instructions
  • Problems
  • Medication Allergies
  • Medications
  • Laboratory Test(s)
  • Laboratory Value(s)/Result(s)
  • Smoking Status
  • Vital signs (height, weight, BP, BMI)

For NC HealthConnex Participants:

Patient Education - An important component to connecting to NC HealthConnex is educating patients about how their medical records will be shared to improve patient care. To help providers, the NC HIEA developed patient education materials that are available to Participants for their use in patient communications.

The next TeleTown Hall training webinar is scheduled for February 28, 2017, at 12:00 pm. The agenda will cover clinical notifications and direct secure messaging. Email invitations will be sent to Participant Account Administrators. Be on the lookout for this important communication. If you were unable to attend the previous TeleTown Hall meeting the recording is available on the website.

Workgroup Dates:

Behavioral Health – Wednesday, March 8, 2017 – 1 p.m. through 4 p.m. – Registration available soon.

Disease Registries –  Thursday, February 16, 2017 10 a.m. through 12 p.m. – Registration available soon.