Sixteen health information organizations announced this week they would be joining forces to address data exchange challenges across state lines. 

 

Officials say the new collaboration aims to spur more robust forms of health information exchange, such as query-based HIE, and ensure that health information appropriately follows patients that require healthcare services outside of their home town or home state. 

 

[See also: Top HIE vendors of 2014 named.]

 

Founding members of the Mid-States Consortium of Health Information Organizations include:

 

A seventeenth organization, the Community Service Council, based out of Tulsa, Okla., is not an HIO but has joined the Mid-States Consortium of HIOs as a supporting organization.

[See also: HIE network sees record participation.]
 

"All members signed a charter indicating their willingness to collaborate on issues that are challenging health information exchange across the nation," said Laura McCrary, executive director of the Kansas Health Information Network, in a statement. "The Mid-States Consortium members are discussing issues such as data use agreements that enable data exchange across regional and state lines as well as outline permissible secondary data use across HIOs. "These are the most difficult issues for HIOs to resolve as they require a high degree of trust," said McCrary.

 

[See also: No HIE means 'lost opportunity' for cash.]

 

Health information organizations in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states have already developed the technology infrastructure to support secure Direct messaging and query-based exchange to ensure that providers can share health information for patients they have in common. Many of the organizations are pursuing accreditation with organizations such as DirectTrust and Healtheway. However, differing state laws, patient consent policies and approaches to sharing protected health information have created barriers to successful exchange across regional and state boundaries. The Mid-States Consortium will provide a forum for regional and state HIOs to resolve these issues, officials say. 

 

"The Mid-States Consortium of HIOs will provide a venue through which HIOs can negotiate together with vendors and payers for products or services and advocate at the regional and national level for HIO-related issues," said Jeff Messer, director of outreach and development, Colorado Regional Health Information Organization, in a statement. "The Mid-States Consortium will provide the opportunity for HIOs to share knowledge, education and networking resources, and collaborate on funding opportunities where partnerships can be advantageous."