eHI Programs

eHI provides opportunities for members to collaborate, network and share best practices. Our focus areas for 2020 include:

· Interoperability

· Cost Transparency

· Privacy & Security

· Data Analytics (SDOH)

· COVID-19 Federal Policy Workgroup

The following includes a more detailed description of each focus area. A critical component of these strategies will be a series of workgroups in each of the five areas. The workgroups, composed of eHI members and relevant industry thought leaders, will work to contribute to eHI’s goals for 2020 and ultimately advance industry progress in these areas.

Interoperability

Problem: The lack of electronic health record interoperability and difficulties in sharing patient data continue to be major barriers to healthcare, resulting in waste, inefficiencies, clinical burnout, and risk to patient safety. DaVinci specifications and FHIR are core to future interoperability, but many executives in provider and payer organizations do not understand their importance or function in data sharing. It is critical non-technical executives understand these programs, in order to ensure their adoption by 2021.

Goal: eHI will identify best practices and educational materials that can be utilized to promote the adoption of FHIR with executives and provide key messaging to communicate the value of FHIR to targeted stakeholder groups. To learn more please contact Claudia Ellison at Claudia.Ellison@ehidc.org.

Cost Transparency

Problem: Until recently, volume-based care has been the standard in United States healthcare, however, a value-based reimbursement structure is becoming more commonplace. Patients are becoming active consumers of healthcare services, but a lack of cost transparency for those services hinders their ability to make informed decisions about their healthcare. Most patients and their physicians have little to no understanding of the true cost of care or pricing. As consumers face increased out of pocket spending, there is a need for a systematic approach to increase cost transparency and empower consumers.

Goal: Through virtual workgroup meetings, eHI will develop best practices to educate healthcare executives. This group will identify best practices in educating healthcare providers on the nuances of true cost of pricing and out-of-pocket spending for consumers, using both elective and non-elective procedures. Additionally, the task force will review current state and federal initiatives to promote price transparency. eHI staff will develop a summary of the identified best practices based on task force discussion. Meetings topics to include state and federal initiatives, best practices in educating providers, and best practices for providers to educate consumers. To learn more please contact Claudia Ellison at Claudia.Ellison@ehidc.org.

Privacy and Security

Problem: The rise of consumer-facing healthcare websites, mHealth apps, and connected medical devices has raised new privacy and security challenges regarding the collection and sharing of health data. The existing health information privacy regulatory framework, which is built around HIPAA and state privacy laws, was not designed for the rapidly changing digital landscape driving State and Federal agencies to develop regulations. Although the laws are designed to protect all involved, they can create barriers to exchanging and accessing data. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act introduces burdensome obligations, most of which were previously unseen by American companies and several of which present questions about implementation.

Goal: eHI will identify the current regulations and determine how they are supporting consumer privacy and/or negatively impacting consumer directed healthcare companies.

This task for will identify best practices for payers, providers, and vendors in removing barriers to exchange and access of data and provide details on current legislation and regulation; and, how they are supporting consumer privacy and/or negatively impacting consumer directed healthcare companies. Topics to include Best Practices re maximizing security in the rapidly changing digital landscape; Best Practices surrounding working within the newly revised HIPAA 2.0 Framework; Consumer Access to Healthcare Data - Issues and Challenges with Privacy Regulations.

To learn more, please contact Alice Leiter at Alice@ehidc.org. 

Data Analytics: Social Determinants of Health

Problem: While the healthcare industry has the potential of using social determinants of health in impacting health outcomes and costs, it is less clear how to define, measure, collect, and share this data.

Goal: This workgroup will meet to identify best practices to access and utilize SDOH data into a plan of care and interventions for individuals and communities.

Topics to cover include:

· Role of HIEs in SDOH data exchange

· Categories of Data and Coding Schemes

· Role of Teleheath, Remote Monitoring, and Patient Reported Data

· How collaborations align stakeholders to capture and utilize SDOH

To learn more please contact Claudia Ellison at Claudia.Ellison@ehidc.org.

COVID-19 Federal Policy Work Group

eHI has been engaged in advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and with the administration to urge adoption and use of digital health and health IT tools to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, support providers, and best treat patients.

eHI joined with other stakeholder groups to successfully advocate for Congress to give the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) authority to waive Medicare telehealth reimbursement restrictions during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Following HHS’ issuance of the waiver, eHI sent a letter to Congress, signed by more than 20 leading health IT organizations, urging further action.

While we are pleased with the steps that have been taken so far, we believe there is more to do – so we are inviting our members, many of whom are at the frontlines of fighting COVID-19, to join our COVID-19 Federal Policy Work Group to help craft a report with a set of recommendations to fully leverage health IT and digital health to fight COVID-19 and future public health challenges.

To learn more about this workgroup, please contact Catherine Pugh at Catherine@ehidc.org.