New Hampshire Senate Bill 229 Expands The Use And Disclosure Of Protected Health Information To Better Support Care Coordination

New Hampshire Health Information Organization Helps Pass Legislation Allowing for More Effective Use of State Electronic Network; Greater Safeguards of Protected Health Information for Patients

The New Hampshire Health Information Organization (NHHIO), a non-profit created by New Hampshire legislation, securely connecting healthcare communities to share patient health information needed for informed care decisions, announced recently that New Hampshire Senate Bill 229 title: an act relative to the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI), is now in effect in the granite state. This bill expands the availability of the network to a larger group of care providers, and helps increase the protections for patient information as it is shared between healthcare providers. Now, care coordinators, clinical support staff and other members of the care team can utilize the NHHIO to securely share health information with the provider community, helping to improve disease management and efficient care coordination. The legislation went into effect September 9, 2014.

“It is vitally important for patients across New Hampshire to access their medical information and to protect that private information from being stolen,”said New Hampshire State Senator, Jeb Bradley, the main sponsor of the bill. “I was proud to sponsor Senate Bill 229 to update New Hampshire’s medical records law and give all New Hampshire patients the tools to protect their medical privacy.”

The New Hampshire Health Information Organization runs and operates the network, using national standards of interoperability and transmission security, which helps electronically transmit patient information efficiently and securely between provider organizations across the state. Over 60 participating organizations, representing over 75 different geographical provider locations throughout New Hampshire are already signed on and are utilizing the NHHIO, with more ready to participate in this advanced network. NHHIO facilitates the more effective use of electronic health records (EHR) by exchanging data electronically using fully certified software applications and federal standards for communication.

“New Hampshire is taking a unique approach to health information exchange. With the NHHIO, there is no central repository of information, rather, we add another layer of security when patient information is in motion so it is encrypted end-to-end, minimizing the risk of a breach,” said Jeff Loughlin, Executive Director, New Hampshire Health Information Organization. “Our organization is about improving communication transmissions between providers. With Senate Bill 229 in effect, healthcare teams are now able to more effectively manage the flow of patient information in a timely and secure manner, utilizing state-of-the-art IT infrastructure to support ongoing efforts in the continuous improvement of healthcare in New Hampshire.”

About New Hampshire Health Information Organization (NHHIO)
NHHIO is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization created by legislation that is establishing a statewide electronic health network to share patient health information between health care providers in a timely, secure, and confidential manner. Our goal is to collaborate with hospitals, physicians, community health centers, long term care providers, home care providers and other clinicians involved in the delivery of healthcare. Our vision is to design and implement a secure and robust health information exchange which will lead to the reduction in healthcare cost and improve quality, efficiency, and safety of patient care. In 2010 multi-stakeholder workgroups were formed to address six Health Information Exchange planning and operational domains: Governance, Finance, Technical Infrastructure, Business & Technical Operations, Legal & Policy and Public Health workgroup members were instrumental in the collaborative process that resulted in a Strategic and Operational Plan for Health Information Exchange in New Hampshire that was approved by the Office of the National Coordinator in December of 2010. This multi stakeholder effort also resulted in legislation that created the NHHIO effective July 5, 2011. For more information, visit www.nhhio.org.