226592 Methods and Early Findings from an Evaluation of Health Information Exchange for Public Health in New York State

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 : 11:00 AM - 11:15 AM

Jacqueline Merrill, RN, MPH, DNSc , School of Nursing and Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, New York, NY
Andrew Phillips, RN , School of Nursing, Columbia University, New York, NY
Lisa Kern, MD MPH , Public health, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
Rainu Kaushal, MD MPH , Quality and Clinical Informatics, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
New York State is a pioneer in interoperable health information exchange through the Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law for all New Yorkers (HEAL-NY). Through grants to Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) and other groups, this multi-phase $200 million plus program promotes community-wide adoption of electronic health records and population health reporting. This study evaluates specific use cases of health information exchange for public health reporting (HIE for PH) being implemented by six (6) HEAL-NY Phase 5 grantees. It is conducted by the Health Information Technology Evaluation Collaborative (HITEC), an independent, third-party consortium of four NY State universities and experts in health IT. The design is a multi-level mixed methods comparative case study. The evaluation triangulates quantitative and qualitative data using an evaluation reference model developed to document public health use case implementation in relation to grantees' business culture, organizational environment, and vendor utilization across six grantees. The evaluation model documents how these elements influence progress of the grantees as they implement HIE for PH and allows identification of latent factors that may have an impact on individual success. Early findings suggest that a business sustainability model and internal organizational choices have a significant impact on the success and progress made by individual grantees. A need for communication across grantees and grantees' view of evaluation as a value statement for stakeholders have emerged as important factors. Our research establishes a unique evaluation framework for HIE for PH. Differences in funding, sustainability and growth identified in our comparative analysis results are linked to specific cultural and organizational differences among the RHIOs and capture the value added to each of the RHIO's stakeholders. These differences and components of success will inform policies regarding HIE for PH and the future growth of the statewide health information network envisioned by New York State.

Learning Areas:
Communication and informatics
Program planning
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe a comparative case study method to evaluate health information exchange for public health 2. Explain the factors that differentiate how Regional Health Information Organizations meet specific use cases for public health information exchange 3. Discuss how an evaluation of health information exchange for public health may inform policies and future growth of the statewide health information network envisioned by New York State

Keywords: Technology, Evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have participated in conceptual design of the study, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.