More states jump on HIE bandwagon

At least two more states advanced plans for health information exchange in the past week, with a Pennsylvania panel seeking to piggyback on an existing network in neighboring Delaware and Wisconsin's governor ordering creation of a system within six months.

Gov. Jim Doyle last week signed an executive order creating the the Wisconsin Relay of Electronic Data for Health (WIRED) Board, a 14-member commission tasked with developing plans for funding, infrastructure, rules, oversight and accountability of a health information exchange by June. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the state is in line to receive $9.4 million in federal stimulus funding to support HIE activity.

In Pennsylvania, the Governor's Office of Health Care Reform issued a strategic plan for a proposed Pennsylvania Health Information Exchange (PHIX) by recommending that the state take advantage of infrastructure of the Delaware Health Information Network, which has been live since March 2007. That strategy could shorten implementation time by up to 18 months, according to the plan. "The PHIX governance would have complete control over policies, functionality, implementation priorities, product branding, legal framework and revenue model," the plan says.

There's no word about whether Delaware is open to such an arrangement.

For more information:
- read this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about the Wisconsin board
- see this Health Data Management piece on Pennsylvania's plan

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