Policy and Practice June 2017

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Policy&Practice June 2017 8
technology speaks
By Beth Davidson
In May 2009, the Alaska legislature
unanimously passed Senate Bill
133 (AK 18.23.300), an act creating
a statewide Health Information
Exchange (HIE) system that is
interoperable and compliant with
state and federal specifications and
protocols for exchanging health
records and data. In March 2010,
Alaska eHealth Network was awarded
a contract by the Alaska Department
of Health and Social Services to be
the advisory or governing board that
would procure and manage the Alaska
HIE. Since this time, Alaska’s HIE has
evolved from being a pilot project in
interior Alaska to many organizations
across the state utilizing the HIE and
actively sharing data.
In 2016, the Alaska legislature
passed Senate Bill 74 (Medicaid
Redesign). This has been a major
milestone in Alaska’s effort to redesign
our siloed and costly system of care.
This bill mandates the use of data-
driven practices and use of existing
technology such as health information
exchanges. In late September 2016,
the Alaska eHealth Network imple-
mented a strategic planning initiative
to look at interoperability and how
it can be best achieved, including
the use of the Alaska HIE and health
information exchange “the verb.”
Alaska has advanced interoperability
in many ways through direct secure
messaging and provider electronic
health records, but there are more
areas where interoperability is still in
infancy, including cross-organization
commitment, communication, and
collaboration.
Current State of
Alaska’s HIE
The Alaska HIE has been a care-
fully planned statewide solution to
address interoperability for Alaska
and one that will allow our system of
care to move away from a fragmented,
disconnected system to a robust, high-
value, whole-person system. Today,
Alaska’s HIE has query, portal access
that allows users, with appropriate
security roles, the ability to query
an individual patient or client. For
example, case managers—including
those from child welfare, long-term
support services, education, and other
areas who have been granted access—
can view and share necessary data for
a client with other providers without
having to utilize older technology
such as facsimile or postal services.
This query access allows the case
manager (and other providers with a
relationship to the client) the ability
to collaborate for the whole person
and provide high-quality, integrated
care. Alaska’s HIE is also connected
to the Alaska Department of Health
and Social Services Enterprise Service
Bus, which allows providers to share
data, such as Public Health data, with
the department. Alaska’s HIE cur-
rently has additional features and
functionality to include direct secure
messaging, an electronic health
record solution, patient portal, and
other tools.
From Pilot Project to Statewide Management:
Alaska’s Health Information Exchange
Photo illustration by Chris Campbell