North Carolina providers are preparing to launch a health information exchange, while Kansas is finalizing its own HIE plan for federal review.
In North Carolina, a provider-led HIE called the North Carolina Healthcare Exchange is expected to begin operating by the fourth quarter of this year, according to Health Data Management. The exchange will tap into a statewide backbone infrastructure built by a HITECH Act-funded entity called NCHIE. Other exchanges in the state, such as Data Link--which connects 16 hospitals in western North Carolina--also will link to the state backbone.
The new provider-led exchange is a joint effort of the state hospital and medical associations. According to HDM, it is using the underlying technology of the statewide Hospital Emergency Surveillance System as a starting point. Two provider systems, Moses Cone Health System and WakeMed Health & Hospitals, soon will begin pilot testing. The second phase then will bring in about 60 ambulatory practices.
The rapid time frame reflects the use of off-the-shelf technology and of vendors with experience in other states, organizers told HDM.
Meanwhile, Kansas expects to submit its HIE plan for federal review by the end of August, according to the Kansas Health Institute News Service. Officials say they expect to receive formal approval by the year's end, which would clear the way to create the exchange and begin providing services by December 2011.
For more information:
- read this Health Data Management article
- here's the KHI News Service report