Mass. moves to statewide HIE with first-of-its-kind CMS funding

With $16.9 million in funding approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Massachusetts is moving forward with a statewide health information exchange (HIE).

Massachusetts is the first state to receive approval for statewide HIE development through CMS and funds will be allocated for the project through a combination of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant money and Medicaid funding.

The funding allows Massachusetts to complete the first phase of the three-phase project. This first phase includes organizing a project management team, developing a governance structure and selecting operations staff members for the HIE, according to an Aug. 3 statement from the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services.

“This exchange will serve as a statewide healthcare information highway that will connect payer, provider and patient to a single technology backbone,” Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services JudyAnn Bigby, MD.