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Launch of Connecting Communities for Better Health Program

Electronic health information exchange aims to improve health and health care.

The Foundation for eHealth Initiative released a report on December 17 as part of its Connecting Communities for Better Health program, showing exceptionally keen interest among health-care providers across the nation in improving the safety, quality and efficiency of medical care by moving forward aggressively with electronic health information exchange projects.

To initiate the program, the foundation in October 2003 issued an open invitation for communities to respond to a Request for Capabilities statement outlining electronic health information exchange project requirements for funding through the program. Key eligibility criteria for receiving funding through the program included involvement of at least three stakeholder groups, matching funding, use of data standards and a clinical focus to the project.

"The response was overwhelming -- we received 134 submissions, from applicants in 42 states and the District of Columbia," said Janet M. Marchibroda, executive director of the foundation and chief executive officer of the eHealth Initiative. "Plainly, there is a groundswell of interest among communities across our nation in using information technology to deliver better, safer health care."

The responses highlighted several commonalities among communities embarking on health-care IT and data exchange projects, most notably the need for funding. The foundation's Connecting Communities program is administering a $3.86 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). "But it would take nearly 100 times that amount -- $364 million -- to initiate the health information exchange projects being proposed to us," said C. Martin Harris, president of the foundation and chief information officer of the Cleveland Clinic. "And more than $1.2 billion in funding over three years to help these communities exchange information to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care for Americans," Harris said.

"This gap underscores the urgent need not only for significant upfront community-directed funding -- from federal, state, philanthropic and private-sector sources -- that will help improve health and health care for our nation," Marchibroda said, "but also the need for sustainable business models that allow communities to align incentives among those who pay for IT and those who benefit from the quality, safety and efficiency gains that result from its use." Navigating the policy options for sustainability, testing their effectiveness, and disseminating results is a key component of the program and the work of the eHealth Initiative and its foundation, which is administering the program.

Other key findings from the report include the following:

  • The applications indicate increased interest in using data standards -- more than 80 percent of applicants indicated an intent to use HL7 messaging standards.

  • More than 70 percent of applicants planned to use funds received for either test results delivery or reminders to clinicians about actions that need to be taken;

  • More than 80 percent of the applicants intended to involve one or more of the following stakeholder groups: inpatient institutions (e.g. hospitals); outpatient facilities; primary care physician offices; and specialty care physician offices.

    Seed Funding, "Learning Community Network" Key Parts of Program
    In cooperation with the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA's) Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, the foundation is providing $3.86 million in seed funding and support to collaboratives within communities that are using electronic health information exchange and other information technology tools to drive improvements in health care quality, safety and efficiency.

    It is anticipated that projects both funded and highlighted by the program will show how electronic communications using common health data standards can guard against medical errors and help patients receive necessary and timely medical treatment. Also, in communities with electronic health information exchange, public health officials will have the opportunity to more quickly identify and respond to threats from naturally occurring diseases, such as SARS, and to potential bioterror attacks.

    Connecting Communities not only plans to provide seed funding to a set of communities to implement health information
  • exchange, it also will create a Community Learning Network to provide resources and tools for all communities and stakeholders interested in health information exchange.

    The learning community network will enable practicing clinicians, payers, hospitals and other provider organizations, public health agencies, employers and purchasers, health-care information technology suppliers, consumer and patient groups, and federal and state agencies to learn -- both from national experts and from each other -- about barriers to implementation of interconnected health-care IT, and about practical solutions that can be employed to overcome those barriers. Key areas of focus for the Community Learning Network will address those areas that provide the most challenges for communities engaging in health information exchange, including organization and governance, upfront funding and sustainable business models, privacy and security, technical architecture, clinician adoption and process change, and engagement of patients. The foundation intends to leverage the work of others -- particularly its public and private sector partners -- in populating the tools and resources included in the Community Learning Network.

    The experiences of communities receiving seed funding to implement electronic health information exchange will be evaluated, and the strategies utilized by both funded communities and other communities will be disseminated broadly, with the goal of spurring movement toward an interconnected, electronic national health information infrastructure.

    "We can see that in many communities, there is great demand for implementing electronic health information exchange," said Lori M. Evans, vice president of the foundation for eHealth Initiative and Connecting Communities program director. "But we also understand that it is a complex task to introduce and sustain information technology in the health-care setting. The learning network will be an invaluable "how to" resource for communities and organizations that are moving from paper-based records to an interconnected health information infrastructure."

    In its work with HRSA on the Connecting Communities project, the foundation also seeks to closely align with and leverage related health information exchange activities in the public and private sectors.

    Applicants who responded to the Connecting Communities Request for Capabilities will be notified soon regarding their status. Applicants will either be invited to submit a full response to a Request for Proposal, or they will be encouraged to participate in the program through the learning community network.

    For more information on Connecting Communities for Better Health, see Web site or Web site. Or contact: Lori Evans, vice president of the Foundation for eHealth Initiative and the Connecting Communities program director at 202.624.3265 or Lori Evans.

    About the Foundation for eHealth Initiative
    The Foundation for eHealth Initiative is focused on engaging the multiple and diverse stakeholders in health care's private and public sectors to define and then implement specific, feasible actions that will address the challenges of our health-care system through the use of information technology.

    The foundation's vision is that consumers, health-care providers, and those responsible for population health will have ready access to timely, relevant, reliable and secure information and services through an interconnected, electronic health information infrastructure to support better health and health care.

    For more information on the Foundation for eHealth Initiative, see Web site.

    About eHealth Initiative
    eHealth Initiative is a multi-stakeholder nonprofit consortium whose mission is to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care through information and information technology. eHI's members include physician groups and practicing clinician organizations, health systems and hospitals, health plans, health-care information technology organizations, manufacturers, employers and purchasers, academic and research institutions and nonprofit organizations.

    For more information about eHealth Initiative, see Web site.