When NHINWatch.com launched in early 2005, President George W. Bush had recently established the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. Health information exchange was more a concept to the majority of the nation and indeed the healthcare industry, but the idea of a National Health Information Network was born. The NHIN soon became the Nationwide Health Information Network to abolish any fear of the federal government taking over your patient information.

So much has happened since then. ARRA, including the HITECH Act, and ACA passed. The Meaningful Use programs began in earnest, amid enthusiasm, skepticism and resistance. Many regional health information organizations (RHIOs) were formed and compared to the community health information networks, or CHIN, of the 1990s. Some of the RHIOs famously went down in flames, and arguments erupted over the value and feasibility of RHIOs and HIEs.

Meanwhile, more RHIOs and HIEs formed – both public and private, regional and enterprise. Veterans such as the Indiana Health Information Exchange continue to deliver value. States such as New York are making inroads in creating true statewide HIEs. Meaningful Use Stage 2 criteria call for greater connectivity and interoperability. Some Beacon Communities are focusing on the sharing of patient information. And accountable care organizations (ACOs), driven by ACA, are looking to health information exchange to enable ACO partners to share financial and clinical information in order to improve the quality of care for a group of patients.

As NHINWatch.com editor, I have had the pleasure of watching HIE, the verb and the noun, evolve and grow and become more robust. Every morning for the past eight years, I have pulled stories from the Internet that were relevant to post on NHINWatch.com. The arguments continue, but they are of a different nature. Health information exchange is real, and though it is still evolving, HIE is here to stay. What’s at stake is what the business model will look like and where it will take hold and deliver the greatest value.

After eight years at the helm, I am handing off NHINWatch.com to Anthony Brino, associate editor of Government Health IT and Healthcare Payer News. Since Anthony came on board last year, he has written extensively about HIEs. So when it was time to find an editor who could truly take NHINWatch.com to new places, it was a no-brainer for me to look to him.

I will continue to contribute Perspective columns once a month, but the daily operations and the grand vision of NHINWatch.com will be in Anthony’s hands.

Please welcome Anthony to our HIE community. You can reach him at Anthony.brino@medtechmedia.com, and as always, you can reach me at patty.enrado@medtechmedia.com for coverage on HIE.