Netsmart Awarded Grant To Connect Electronic Health Records To Mass HIway Statewide Health Information Exchange

Company Now Facilitates Secure Data Exchange for HIEs in Multiple States

Overland Park, KS (PRWEB) - Netsmart announced today it has been selected by the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) to receive an Electronic Health Record (EHR) Vendor Interface Grant that will help the Commonwealth reach the goal of connecting every healthcare provider in the Commonwealth to the Statewide Health Information Exchange (HIE), the Mass HIway.

The $75,000 grant will provide Netsmart with a portion of the resources needed to develop a secure and seamless interface to the Last-Mile Mass HIway. MeHI created the Last-Mile Mass HIway EHR Interface Solutions Program to encourage and support EHR vendors in the integration of the ability to use the Mass HIway for secure electronic communication between healthcare entities in Massachusetts. MeHI's goal for this program is to stimulate the rapid adoption of the Commonwealth’s HIE services and ensure that the largest number of providers can connect to the Mass HIway in the shortest amount of time, and to fully support the electronic exchange of patient and public health related information among diverse organizations.

"We are pleased to receive this grant from MeHI to help facilitate the coordinated exchange of clinical information across all points of care," said Michael Valentine, chief executive officer, Netsmart. "This is especially important at a time of increased integration of behavioral health and primary care, and as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts utilizes Integrated Care Organizations (ICOs) for the delivery and management of integrated, comprehensive care."

"Some of our most advanced clients are providers in Massachusetts," said Valentine. "This investment by MeHI and Netsmart will enable them and other providers to accelerate their care coordination strategies. We are excited to play a continued role in Massachusetts as it serves as a proving ground for health policies to be rolled out nationwide."

Netsmart is also the catalyst for secure data exchange among providers in other HIEs, including the Brooklyn Health Information Exchange (BHIX), Healthix, Inc. and the Kentucky HIE.

"MeHI helps the Commonwealth’s health care community adopt secure health technology and attain interoperability," said Laurance Stuntz, director of the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech. "This interface grant program helps us move together toward that shared goal."

"Through this grant awarded to Netsmart, we are pleased to support our shared mission of connecting EHRs to the Mass HIway in an effort to ease barriers to provider adoption," said Sean Kennedy, director, HIE. "This is a critical step in creating a platform to enable the secure, efficient and cost-effective flow of patient data."

The various Massachusetts providers will be linked to the Mass HIway via Netsmart’s CareConnect™, which enables the sharing of information between and among providers involved in the care of a consumer, and with other entities such as RHIOs, HIEs and Health Homes. CareConnect will be used in conjunction with the Netsmart myAvatar™ CareRecord™ to provide a secure means to exchange clinical and administrative information.

The grants are also designed to help EHRs meet new federal EHR Technology Certification criteria that require the EHR systems to include Direct-compliant data exchange capabilities. The Direct Project is creating a low-cost, practical mechanism for exchanging health information over the Internet.

About Mass HIway
The Massachusetts Health Information Highway (Mass HIway) is collaboration between the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the Massachusetts eHealth Institute to deploy a secure statewide health information exchange. The Mass HIway enables the electronic movement of health related information among diverse organizations, such as doctors’ offices, hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies, skilled nursing facilities and health plans.

About Netsmart
Netsmart is the leading provider of clinical and business solutions for health and human services organizations nationwide. They are committed to helping health and human services providers deliver effective, recovery-based care with Netsmart CareFabric™, a tightly woven framework of innovative clinical and business solutions and services that supports integrated, coordinated delivery of health services across the spectrum of care.

More than 22,000 client organizations, including 350,000 care providers and more than 40 state systems use Netsmart products to help improve the quality of life for tens of millions of people each year. Netsmart clients include mental health and addiction treatment agencies, psychiatric hospitals, private and group mental health practices, public health departments, social services and child and family health agencies, vital records offices, and managed care organizations.

Netsmart is pleased to support the EveryDay Matters Foundation, which was established for behavioral and public health organizations to learn from each other and share their causes and stories. Organizations can also request grants for their cause or to help fund technology that advances the way care is delivered. For more information, visit http://www.everydaymatters.com/foundation.