The National Association of State Chief Information Officers' newly released list of federal policy priorities for 2013 includes certain health IT-related issues, FierceCIO reports (Carlson, FierceCIO, 1/16).
Brenda Decker -- NASCIO president and CIO of the state of Nebraska -- in a NASCIO statement said, "It's past time to modernize how federal agencies work with states to deliver key services, from Medicare benefits to homeland security."
Greater Interoperability of IT Systems for Medicaid, Other Services
As part of its federal policy priorities for this year, NASCIO is pushing for greater interoperability of government data systems.
NASCIO pointed out that each state currently uses "its own complex and expensive eligibility and benefits management system to support Medicaid and other publicly funded financial assistance programs."
The organization stated that standards-based information models could help reduce interoperability issues, "saving billions and resulting in more consistent service delivery outcomes."
Creating Public Safety Broadband Network
As another priority for this year, NASCIO said that it hopes to break ground on a public safety wireless broadband network that would allocate dedicated broadband spectrum to emergency responders and public safety agencies.
The association said that it wants to help shape the network by providing guidance on business models and governance.
Adopting National Information Exchange Model
In addition, NASCIO is encouraging states to adopt the National Information Exchange Model (Brino, Government Health IT, 1/22).
NIEM is a data framework that allows for sharing information between different domains. It is being considered as a possible foundation for sharing health data among state and federal agencies responsible for managing public health and health reform programs (iHealthBeat, 4/29/11).
According to NASCIO, NIEM should be integrated into states' IT systems "for planning and implementing intergovernmental information exchanges" (Government Health IT, 1/22).