HealthQuilt: A Texas HIE Initiative in Houston Metropolitan Area

The HealthQuilt (Health Quality and Interoperability Laboratory for Training) Project is among the first pilot projects in the state of Texas that addresses Health Information Exchange. HealthQuilt is funded to pilot a prototype health information exchange for the City of Houston and Greater Harris County area. The purposes of the HealthQuilt project are to develop a ‘network of networks' communication model, equip fifty health homes with standards of practice to address the current challenges of health data exchange, in particular, issues related to manual data input, disparate data sources, and duplicate records and health information. The HealthQuilt Project applies a systematic ‘health home' model implemented in three levels. The first level provides community emergency education tools and awareness of the 2-1-1 system for emergency preparedness by increasing enrollment in the 2-1-1 system and developing methods for their core health information to be made available during a disaster. The second level is the exchange of information from discrete systems for multi-site viewing availability (e.g., laboratory information, imaging, immunization and other public health reporting) and integration of data from clinical systems into a public reporting system. The third level is a total quality management program that brings everything together, including physician CME and peer review program, 24/7 availability of information, a model for on-demand specialty care access to the health home practitioners, and an assurance of outcomes collection from a patient centered approach. The Health Home is the driver of health information exchange through these standards, and HealthQuilt provides a comprehensive planning and coordination for patients. It also affords an opportunity for technical proof of concept for establishing a sustainable health information exchange in Houston.