MiHIN becomes one of the first health information networks to onboard under new testing process working in collaboration with PCE Systems
EAST LANSING, Mich., November 5, 2013 – The Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) today announced completion of the onboarding process with Healtheway to the eHealth Exchange, opening a path for any Michigan qualified data sharing organization to securely share electronic healthcare information with participants in the nationwide eHealth Exchange network, including the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and other states.
The eHealth Exchange is a group of organizations operating together to improve patient care, streamline disability benefit claims, and improve population health. The group accomplishes these goals through the secure, trusted exchange of health information – matching patients to their data without a national patient identifier, sending health information to other participating organizations, finding and requesting patient information from other participating organizations where permitted by law and policy, and subscribing to receive updates to patient information.
“Participating in the eHealth Exchange enables secure, electronic Health Information Exchange to occur across diverse technical platforms, geographies and legal requirements,” said Mariann Yeager, Executive Director of Healtheway. “Enabling Michigan’s healthcare providers to exchange information electronically with federal organizations and other participants in the eHealth Exchange community will help improve patient care, through information availability, and expedite payment of benefits for the disabled.”
MiHIN is the first state-designated entity for exchanging health information to complete onboarding to the eHealth Exchange with the new testing and onboarding process as guided by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT). Healtheway, Inc. supports the eHealth Exchange community (formerly NHIN Exchange) and ensures there is an efficient onboarding process. If you would like to learn more about onboarding and discover software that could be helpful with the onboarding process, you may want to look into a company similar to Fleetsmith to learn more.
MiHIN is also the first organization in the U.S. to onboard to the eHealth Exchange using the Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (C-CDA). The C-CDA is a requirement under Meaningful Use Stage 2 regulations and is being implemented across the country under those regulations as a standard format to support Health Information Exchange (HIE).
“By successfully onboarding MiHIN with our new testing process in a way that supports Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements, we mark another milestone in Healtheway’s journey to enable secure, trusted exchange of health information nationwide,” Yeager said. “Collaborative efforts such as this, when like-minded organizations commit their resources to deploy a solution for the betterment of healthcare, are a core reason that HIE is transforming healthcare.”
MiHIN’s testing and onboarding broke new ground not only with its focus on C-CDA and Meaningful Use 2 requirements, but also in the type of health information used during the process. “We worked closely with a Michigan behavioral health data sharing organization, PCE Systems, to test and complete the onboarding process,” said Tim Pletcher, Executive Director of MiHIN. “There’s an impression that the focus of HIE has centered on physical health, but this pioneering support of a behavioral health data sharing organization reflects Michigan’s commitment to integrated coordination of care between behavioral and physical health providers.
“Involving behavioral health in the Michigan HIE environment provides an important tool to share information across a person’s care continuum, and does so in a manner that respects a person’s rights and privacy relating to sensitive information. We’re grateful to PCE Systems for contributing its time and resources to this project.”
PCE Systems, a Michigan data sharing organization, provided its HIE platform using CONNECT 4.2 to allow the MiHIN Common Gateway to communicate with the automated test lab, the Developers Integration Lab (DIL), during the testing process. PCE Systems also utilized their Electronic Medical Record (EMR) as an “edge” system to initiate and respond to CCHIT test transactions through the MiHIN Common Gateway.
The MiHIN Common Gateway, developed with Nitor Group and used for the onboarding process, allows data sharing organizations to send and receive Patient Discovery, Document Query, Document Retrieve and Document Submission messages in multiple protocols including NwHIN SOAP and XCA to and from other eHealth Exchange participants.
When Michigan data sharing organizations agree to exchange information through MiHIN, they can choose from a number of Common Gateway use cases, including options to exchange information with Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Social Security Administration (SSA), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Electronic Submission of Medical Documentation System (CMS esMD), non-federal eHealth Exchange participants, or other organizations that have entered into Michigan’s legal structure for data sharing.
“Among the many benefits of this connection between MiHIN and the eHealth Exchange is the greater speed with which requests to and from federal agencies can be processed by electronic submission,” Pletcher said. “For example, by submitting electronic disability claim eligibility determination requests to a Michigan data sharing organization from the Social Security Administration, eligibility can be determined electronically within a day or two instead of many months of waiting. This is a win for the provider, the SSA, and especially for the patient.”
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About PCE Systems
PCE Systems is an information technology and services company based in Farmington Hills, MI specializing in custom, hosted solutions beyond the capabilities of typical “off-the-shelf” software. PCE is the largest community mental health (CMH) Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and provider management system vendor in the State of Michigan, with clients encompassing over 70% of the Michigan Medicaid mental health budget. PCE is also a qualified data sharing organization with MiHIN, providing secure, consent-based health information exchange to the behavioral health community in Michigan. PCE seeks to break the mold of typical software vendors by providing innovative solutions and unparalleled support services under a model that engenders trust and collaboration among PCE and its clients. For more information about PCE Systems, please contact Jeff Chang at jchang@pcesystems.com
About Healtheway
Healtheway, Inc. is a non-profit organization chartered to operationally support the eHealth Exchange, a rapidly growing community of exchange partners, who securely share information under a common trust framework and a common set of rules. Currently, there are more than 40 participants including four federal agencies, six states, and more than two dozen Health Information Organizations (HIOs) and health systems, representing hundreds of hospitals, thousands of providers and millions of patients. Healtheway collaborates across the healthcare industry to develop implementation strategies that enable secure, interoperable nationwide exchange of health information. For more information about Healtheway and the eHealth Exchange: www.healthewayinc.org.
About Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN)
MiHIN is dedicated to improving the healthcare experience and decreasing cost for Michigan’s people by supporting the statewide electronic exchange of health information and making valuable data available at the point of care. MiHIN is a public and private nonprofit collaboration between the State of Michigan, the Office of the National Coordinator, sub-state Health Information Exchanges, insurers, payers, providers and patients. For more information please visit www.mihin.org.