The Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) and the Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) issued a Request for Application due on June 12, 2009 to build a statewide health information exchange. The HSCRC will provide the initial funding of up to $10 million through hospital reimbursement rate adjustments.
Applications need to provide sound solutions on issues such as governance, privacy and security, and the strategies to use to help consumers have appropriate control over their health information. The system must also serve public health, provide for post marketing drug surveillance, and for health services research.
The requirements for a statewide HIE will take into account the ideas submitted by several multi-stakeholders groups. These groups included the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP) and the Montgomery County Health Information Exchange Collaborative (MCHIE). These teams focused on not only governance, privacy and security and standards but also on the architecture of the exchange, on hardware and software solutions, and cost for implementation. Go to http://mhcc.maryland.gov/electronichealth/statehie.html for the final report.
The financial model must provide a feasible strategy on how to provide long term funding and sustainability. Responders must detail the revenue sources for both the start-up and ongoing operations of the HIE. In discussing fees, the responder must define who the fee is for, the amount, how the fee is calculated, service offerings, and funding available from other sources. The responder must also outline a strategy to secure additional funding, the amount of proposed funding, and the anticipated time frame for the funding.
For more information, on the RFA “A Consumer-Centric Health Information Exchange for Maryland”, email Kathy Francis, Chief of the Center for Health Information Technology, at kfrancis@mhcc.state.md.us or call (410) 764-5590.
