This September 23-27, Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) is a proud partner of U.S. National Health IT Week. U.S. National Health IT Week is a nationwide action week focused on supporting healthy communities across the U.S. through the application of information and technology.
Comprehensive healthcare reform is not possible without system-wide adoption of health information technology, which improves the quality of healthcare delivery, increases patient safety, decreases medical errors, and strengthens the interaction between patients and healthcare providers.
Initiated in 2006 by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), U.S. National Health IT Week has emerged as a landmark occasion for using health IT as part of the overall solution to improve America’s healthcare as a bipartisan, federally led, market driven initiative.
The focus of the week revolves around five focus areas – advancing public and population health, modernizing the public health infrastructure, accelerating workforce development, expanding access to broadband and telehealth and addressing social determinants of health.
In Michigan, we are focusing on each of these areas alongside our stakeholders as we continue to move health information technology forward in the state and contribute to the national focus for interoperability solutions. Most notably we celebrate recent announcements focused on public health, telehealth and workforce development.
In February, MiHIN partnered with Livonia Public Schools and Wayne RESA to pilot a new online program to help parents and legal guardians quickly request and receive immunization records from the state which is imperative for registration for children in kindergartners, 7th grade and new enrollees. Through integrating the Consumer Mediated Exchange into the school’s parent portal, parents or guardians can immediately access their child’s immunization record. You can read more on the pilot program here.
In August, MiHIN partnered with Care Convene, a virtual health platform that allows for greater patient access to quality care via a secure platform. Care Convene extends the reach of the care team beyond the traditional brick and mortar practice, increases patient retention and helps providers work more efficiently, increase revenues and improves patient satisfaction in a virtual environment. Care Convene integrates with MiHIN services including Active Care Relationship Service, Common Key Service, Admission, Discharge and Transfer Notifications, and Quality Measure Information to drive the virtual delivery of patient centered, provider-delivered care and health information exchange in a coordinated and triaged way to further serve the citizens of Michigan with patient-centered care.
And in September, MiHIN announced the formation of the Interoperability Institute, a new not-for-profit organization focused on innovative research designed to accelerate national interoperability and to attract and develop health information technology (IT) talent. The Interoperability Institute provides a collaborative learning space where organizations can work towards national interoperability via product solutions like Interoperability Land™, which will help organizations work within the new health data rules expected to be announced soon by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services and Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and work to further develop and enhance the health IT workforce, which is expected to increase dramatically as health information-sharing expands nationally, and grows to support telemedicine, predictive medicine, and population health management.
Join us in celebrating National Health IT Week with other National Health IT Week participants including market suppliers, provider organizations, payers, pharmaceutical/biotech companies, government agencies, industry/professional associations, research foundations, and consumer protection groups— all work together to elevate national attention to the advantages of advancing health IT.
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About Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services
The Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) is Michigan’s state-designated entity to improve healthcare quality, efficiency, and patient safety by sharing electronic health information statewide, helping reduce costs for patients, providers, and payers. MiHIN is a nonprofit, public-private collaboration that includes stakeholders from the State of Michigan, Health Information Exchanges serving Michigan, health systems and providers, health plans/payers, pharmacies, and the Governor’s Health Information Technology Commission. For more information, visit https://mihin.org.