The West Virginia Health Information Network (WVHIN) seeks proposals to evaluate program services. The plan is to evaluate, analyze, and measure the effectiveness and impact that the strategies used to implement WVHIN had on communities across the state. The method used to do the evaluation may include but is not limited to data analysis or population and design studies.
A grant was awarded to WVHIN in 2010 for $7,819,000. In 2011, WVHIN awarded a contract to Thomson Reuters Healthcare to implement a state-wide HIE. The pilot sites for the WVHIN included Wheeling Hospital and West Virginia University Healthcare, are now tentatively scheduled to go live in the spring of 2012 and expand beyond these regions in the summer of 2012.
As part of the grant funding, WVHIN was required to set aside a minimum of 2 percent of the grant award to perform a Program Evaluation. Some of the topics but not all of the topics that WVHIN would like to see addressed in the Program Evaluation include:
- Were the various providers ready to connect to the network?
- What capabilities and previous experience with information exchange did providers have before connecting to the network?
- How many providers had certified EHR capability across the study period?
- How prepared were the EHR vendors in on-ramping to the HIE in accordance with the WVHIN interoperability Services Guide?
- When providers used the WVHIN’s HIE, did they focus their use on particular types of patients?
- How many providers are using Direct Secure Messaging and for what purpose?
An interim Program Evaluation will need to be submitted by December 31, 2012 to be integrated into the annual Strategic and Operation Plan Update that will be sent to the Office of National Coordinator. The final report will need to follow in 60 days but this may be extended.
Go to www.wvhin.org/library/Document/RFP%20Program%20Evaluation.pdf to view the RFP. Further inquiries may be submitted in writing to Denise Hersey, Chief financial Officer, for WVHIN at 100 Dee Drive, Charleston, West Virginia 25311 or by email dhershey@wvhin.org. The bid opening is scheduled to be June 1, 2012.
