First, there was the failure of the Santa Barbara County Care Data Exchange. Now, it appears that California's Next Big Thing in health information exchange is falling apart.

iHealthBeat reports that the California Regional Health Information Organization (CalRHIO) has "effectively shut down" after failing to be named the lead health IT agency for the nation's most populous state. It now appears that the California eHealth Collaborative will be the organization to manage billions in federal dollars for health IT activities. CalRHIO and the California eHealth Collaborative had been the two finalists for that designation, but CalRHIO has published an undated letter saying that negotiations with the state had broken down.

iHealthBeat was unable to get anyone associated with CalRHIO for comment, but did obtain an email from CEO Dr. Molly Coye that acknowledged the inability to negotiate an agreement. "As a result, I will be taking the next four months to engage in a variety of activities, starting with some time off and then providing support for several federal and private advisory groups," Coye wrote.

As recently as last week, California's health IT secretary Jonah Frohlich said he expected to see a joint proposal from CalRHIO and CAeHC within the next two weeks, after which time the state would make an announcement regarding the designation. State officials are not commenting on the apparent disbanding of CalRHIO.

To learn more:
- take a look at this iHealthBeat story
- read the CalRHIO letter to stakeholders (.pdf)

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