NJ set to move ahead with statewide HIE plans

If Gov. Jon Corzine (D) signs pending legislation, New Jersey will become yet another state focused on creating a statewide health information sharing infrastructure. The bill, which has already been approved by the state legislature, will set up a 19-member commission overseeing the development of a statewide health information known as the New Jersey Health Information Bank. The NJHIB will be designed to be "secure, integrated and interoperative" method for sharing information among facilities, providers, payers and patients.

The legislation, which was drafted by a physician-legislator, has done a pretty thorough job of including all interest groups. In addition to government officials, the commission will include reps from the New Jersey Hospital Association, the Medical Society of New Jersey and the New Jersey Association of Health Plans, along with reps from pharmacy, nursing, primary care, mental health advocacy, unions, the AARP and employer interests. There will also be a minimum of three physicians, a nurse, a pharmacies and someone representing clinical labs. Interestingly, the project will be overseen by the state's Department of Banking and Insurance which, one would hope, knows a little something about keeping networked data private.

The net of all this, however, doesn't seem to include any actual demands that anything specific happens. Given how slow such projects have been to materialize in other states, let's see if this turns out to be more talk or a spur to real action.

To find out more about New Jersey's plans:
- read the text of the bill

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