Regional Health Information Organizations RHIOs

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• Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs)
• The Primary Vehicle for Achieving the National
  Health Information Network (NHIN)
• Presented by Holt Anderson
• Executive Director, NCHICA

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Disclaimer

• The NHIN and RHIOs are a new but important
  concepts
• Definitions are not firm at this time
• Public input is being sought by the Office of the
  National Coordinator for Health Information
  Technology (ONCHIT)

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NHIN

• National Health Information Network (NHIN)
• A supportive, nation-wide, interoperable system
  with the capacity to exchange conveniently and
  securely healthcare information culminating in
  the improvement of consumer health and the
  reduction in healthcare costs.

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RHIO

• Regional Healthcare Information Organizations
  (RHIOs)
• A collaborative, consumer-centric organization
  focused on facilitating the coordination of
  existing and proposed e-health initiatives within
  a region, state, or other designated local area.

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Types of RHIOs

• Federations
• Includes large, self-sufficient enterprises
• Agreement to network, share, allow access to
  information they maintain on peer to peer basis
• May develop system of indexing and/or locating
  data (e.g., state or region-wide MPI)

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Types of RHIOs (cont.)

• Co-ops
• Includes mostly smaller enterprises
• Agreement to pool resources and create a
  combined, common data repository
• May share technology and administrative overhead

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Types of RHIOs (cont.)

• Hybrids
• Includes combinations of Federations and Co-ops
• Agreement to network, share, allow access to
  information they maintain on peer to peer basis
• Allows aggregation across large areas (statewide
  or regional)

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RHIO Structure

• 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
• Eligible for Federal and State Grants
• Contributions may be tax deductible as charitable
• Issues
• Limit of 20 on income from unrelated business
  activities (i.e. not charitable and educational)
• May need to subcontract or otherwise handoff
  operational aspects of activities

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Key Allies for a RHIO Include

• Covered Entities (Providers, Health Plans,
  Clearinghouses)
• Medical Society
• Hospital Association
• Nurses Association
• Health Information Management Assn.
• Medical Group Managers Association
• Healthcare Financial Management Association
• Association of Local Health Directors
• Association of Pharmacists
• Long-term Care Association
• Association of Health Plans
• QIOs
• Vendors
• Etc., Etc.

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• NCHICA as One Possible RHIO Model

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NCHICA Background

• Established in 1994 by Executive Order of
  Governor
• 501(c)(3) nonprofit - research education
• 250 members including
• Providers
• Health Plans
• Clearinghouses
• State Federal Government Agencies
• Professional Associations and Societies
• Research Organizations
• Vendors and Consultants
• Mission Improve healthcare in NC by
  accelerating the adoption of information
  technology

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Terms of Membership

• A fundamental purpose of NCHICA is to
• facilitate the development of a statewide
  healthcare information network incorporating
• open architecture
• interoperable systems, and
• reconfigured information systems.

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Terms of Membership (cont.)

• Applicant agrees to support the following
  principles
• to foster interoperability and open-systems
  architecture
• to work in good faith to integrate existing
  healthcare information systems
• to provide expert personnel to support the
  activities of NCHICA in the spirit of
  collaboration
• to support policies adopted by NCHICA to protect
  intellectual property
• to encourage a competitive environment for the
  development of the information,
  telecommunications, and telemedicine industries
  in North Carolina consistent with NCHICA's
  purposes.

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Values for the Transition

• Keep the health and safety of the individual as
  the core objective.
• Use RHIOs as an opportunity and vehicle to
  transform healthcare into a more effective and
  efficient system.
• Promote clinical and business benefits of
  information technology and secure communications .

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Thank You

• Holt Anderson, Executive Director
• Holt_at_nchica.org [phone] ext. 27
• North Carolina Healthcare Information and
  Communications Alliance, Inc. www.nchica.org