Financial support from state legislatures is one key to the success of state health information exchanges, but securing funding is not always easy, according to two state health data exchange leaders, Government Health IT reports.
Gina Perez, executive director of the Delaware Health Information Network, and Devore Culver, executive director of Maine's HealthInfoNet, spoke about health data exchange sustainability at a conference sponsored by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT in Dallas.
Perez and Culver both said that health information exchange can benefit the public but that explaining those benefits to lawmakers is difficult.
A health data exchange "is not going to be sustainable in itself," Culver said, adding that continued state funding likely will be needed.
Delaware
In 1997, the Delaware Legislature laid the groundwork for a health data exchange but did not provide funding. DHIN used two federal grants to launch the exchange. In fiscal year 2007, the state Legislature provided the exchange with $2 million in matching funds, Perez said.
The exchange received $3 million in matching funds from the state the following year and has asked for $2.5 million this year, according to Perez.
She said, "The Legislature now sees the value" of the network (Ferris, Government Health IT, 5/7).