NASCIO: State CIOs should be key stakeholders in HIE development

State CIOs and IT executives should establish themselves as key stakeholders in the development of state health information exchanges (HIE), according to a report issued by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO).

In “HITECH in the States: Action List for State CIOs,” the authors said that by establishing themselves as key stakeholders in developing and implementing HIEs they will be better able to influence policies that will be affecting their offices over the next several years.

The report said that state CIOs can have both an immediate and long-term impact in several areas relating to HIE, including planning, governance, financing/sustainability and policy:

1. Planning: CIOs should be willing to act as a convener among state-wide stakeholders and be ready to conduct a readiness assessment of HIE infrastructure and access its capability to support wide-scale HIE.

1. Governance: According to NASCIO, as of July there were close to 200 active initiatives involved in HIEs across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the American territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The governance models of these HIEs vary widely and CIOs need to determine what governance model works best in their states, looking at factors such as existing HIE efforts, state population, size, demographics and available resources.

1. Financing/Sustainability: State CIOs need to make sure they encourage stakeholders to position their business models to be able to sustain themselves once the initial American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 funding begins to disappear.

1. Policy: State CIOs are going to have to start playing a larger role in dealing with issues like privacy and security as their states get closer to implementing state-wide HIEs.

The report concluded that while the issue of healthcare reform is still a partisan battleground, that is not the case with incorporating healthcare IT into everyday healthcare practices. That “is a fight that has already been won,” the authors wrote.

“Working to improve healthcare quality, lower costs and streamline healthcare practices into secure and efficient operations is a common goal and a common good that all Americans can strive for—and state CIOs hold the knowledge and tools to help make this a reality.”