Iowa is moving forward with its business and financial sustainability plan for a statewide health information exchange, Healthcare IT News reports.
The Strategic and Operational Plan, which was submitted to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, outlines the state's strategies to push for the adoption of electronic health records and set up a health information exchange.
To jump-start the planning phase of the state's data exchange efforts, Iowa has partnered with:
- Hielix, a provider of support software for the exchange of health information; and
- MEDNET, which provides connection to the Nationwide Health Information Network.
Finances
ONC awarded Iowa $8,375,000 in March to set up the state's health information exchange by 2014 as part of the HITECH Act.
Kim Norby -- executive director of Iowa e-Health, a group established by the Iowa Department of Public Health to promote health IT efforts -- said that officials will focus on making the network financially stable over time (Merrill, Healthcare IT News, 10/18).