State Health Information Exchange
State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) funds the State Health Information Exchange (HIE) Cooperative Agreement Program. The state HIE program promotes innovative approaches to the secure exchange of health information within and across states. It also works to ensure that health care providers and hospitals meet national standards and meaningful use requirements.
Demonstrating the secure sharing of information among providers is an essential part of using electronic health records in a meaningful way to qualify for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
About the State HIE Cooperative Agreement Program
In February and March 2010, ONC granted 50 awards totaling $548 million to help states and territories develop and advance resources to facilitate the exchange of health information among health care providers and hospitals within their jurisdictions, and to ultimately encourage and support information exchange across states.
The program aims to ensure that every eligible health care provider has at least one option for health information exchange that meets the requirements of the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, defined by CMS. To this end, awardees will use their funding to:
- Create and implement up-to-date privacy and security requirements for HIE
- Coordinate with Medicaid and state public health programs to establish an integrated approach
- Monitor and track meaningful use HIE capabilities in their state
- Set strategy to meet gaps in HIE capabilities
- Ensure consistency with national standards
