A meeting of some of New York State's top healthcare leaders was the setting on Tuesday for launch of the eHealth Initiative Foundation's (eHI) State Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Summit Initiative.

Starting with New York, eHI is bringing state policy officials together with healthcare, consumer and business leaders to help improve healthcare through information technology. The New York State HIT Policy Initiative is conducted by eHI in partnership with the Health Policy and Strategy Group of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP (Manatt) and sponsored by the United Hospital Fund.

Overall, the new eHI State Initiative focuses on four substantive areas:

• Raising awareness of what federal HIT policy means for states and regions across the country;
• Supporting multi-stakeholder focus on, and investment in HIT and health information exchange at the state and local levels;
• Identifying areas where state laws hinder, instead of facilitate, HIT implementation; and
• Realizing state public policy goals through public-private partnerships at the state and local levels.

As part of this work, activities currently underway at the national level will be shared, and interviews and other information-gathering activities conducted to provide an overview of the region's policy and economic landscape, assess the level of HIT activity statewide, and identify the diverse views of stakeholders. Each of these components will support the dialogue and development of strategies that accelerate HIT adoption and health information exchange to support quality, safety, and efficiency goals. At the end of each state summit, a final report is issued to support state stakeholders as well as the work of other states considering a state or regional health information technology agenda. In addition, it is anticipated that these reports will also help guide federal officials in setting national policy.

"With increasing demands and financial pressures on the healthcare system and challenges related to both quality and safety, healthcare stakeholders both within the public and private sectors in several states across the country are learning that HIT and health information exchange can not only help reduce costs, but also reduce medical errors and improve the quality of care delivered to patients," said Janet Marchibroda, CEO, eHealth Initiative. "Addressing these issues at the national level is not enough. Engaging stakeholders at the state and local levels is critical, because this is where healthcare is actually delivered."

"The timing for this initiative couldn't be better," said William B. Bernstein, co-chair of Manatt's Government and Regulatory Division. "As state legislatures across the country begin their new sessions, we're helping them prepare for important local work while also giving them a venue for input into the national dialogue."

With Tuesday's meeting in New York which was hosted by the United Hospital Fund, diverse healthcare stakeholders within the region began to develop a set of common principles and priorities for HIT in the state and explored a series of next steps to guide state and regional dialogue over the coming year. "At our initial meeting, the breadth of interest and enthusiasm was apparent," said James R. Tallon Jr., President, United Hospital Fund. "This summit meeting was an excellent starting point for the HIT policy discussion in New York." A second New York State summit meeting is scheduled for March 29 in Albany.

The eHealth Initiative and its Foundation are independent, non-profit organizations whose missions are the same: to drive improvement in the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology.