The NGA Center State Alliance for eHealth hosted a live webcast meeting to address common challenges and potential solutions surrounding health IT in the states. The meeting highlighted discussions on E-Prescribing for controlled substances, licensure and the intersection of health reform and health IT. It also included an update from federal officials at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information.

PRESENTATIONS:

E-Prescribing for controlled substances
E-Prescribing has been one of the areas of Health IT that the State Alliance for e-Health has championed over the past four years. Representatives from ONC and the Drug Enforcement Agency spoke about the new e-prescribing rules for controlled substances and what states can do to make sure providers can meet meaningful use requirements in light of these new rules.

  • Betsy Ranslow, acting director, Stakeholder Engagement and State Policy Division, ONC
  • Michelle Ferritto, Chief Regulatory Drafting Unit, Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration

Medical Licensure and License Portability
The State Alliance has been engaged with the issue of Medical Licensure and License portability. It was identified early on as critical to the successful interstate exchange of health information and telemedicine services. Recommendations issued by the State Alliance in 2008 support greater standardization of the state licensure process, including use of a uniform application and centralized credentials verification. A representative from the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline spoke to the State Alliance on these issues.

  • Bruce McIntyre, Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline

Health IT and Health System Change
The interaction between Health IT and the transformation of our health care system are critical issues for states. Kathleen Nolan of the NGA Center presented some interactions and actions the NGA Center is taking to help states reform our health care system to obtain better quality and lower cost care.

Consent Laws and Interstate HIE
Privacy and security have long been major concerns in the health IT community. A key portion of that discussion has been patient consent. As states move toward interstate HIE, providers and HIOs will be required to comply with a variety of different state privacy and consent laws as well as federal laws. An expert on patient data stewardship presented on challenges and how existing HIEs have addressed these issues.

HIE Financing and Sustainability
Financing and sustainability are one of the key challenges in developing a statewide health information exchange. Workable business models for HIE have been elusive in the past and states are struggling to figure out how to assure the future of health information exchange in the midst of an unprecedented state budget crisis. Reneé Bostick discussed some of the challenges states are facing surrounding sustainability and methods states and HIEs can use to develop support for their financial needs.