What is Oregon's Health IT Strategic Plan
The Oregon Health Policy Board voted in support of HITOC's five-year strategic plan on May 7, 2024.
Oregon's Strategic Plan for Health Information Technology 2024-2028
Executive Summary: Strategic Plan for Health IT, 2024-2028
Resumen ejecutivo: Plan Estratégico de Tecnología de la Información (TI) de Salud de Oregon 2024-2028
The Health Information Technology Oversight Council (HITOC) developed Oregon's Strategic Plan for Health Information Technology 2024-2028 to provide high-level priorities, guidance, and direction for health information technology (health IT) over the next five years. It outlines the overall vision and the focus areas for partners across the health IT landscape in Oregon to focus their efforts for statewide progress. The plan was developed over a multi-year process involving HITOC meetings, two workgroups, and extensive community engagement (See Community Engagement and Input Report 2018-2023).
The Strategic Plan is for everyone using or impacted by health IT in Oregon, including but not limited to:
- Individuals (consumers/patients)
- Providers and clinic staff
- The Nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon
- Community-based organizations (CBOs)
- Hospitals
- Health systems
- Coordinated care organizations (CCOs) and health insurance plans
- Technology partners
- State agencies
The Strategic Plan includes HITOC's Vision, Goals, Principles, Strategies, and Activities for health IT in Oregon. The Strategies focus on patients and consumers, electronic health records (EHRs), health information exchange (HIE), community information exchange (CIE), interoperability, and governance.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) established a goal of eliminating health inequities by 2030 and is working to improve the health care system. Effective use of health IT is critical to support these efforts. HITOC is responsible for setting health IT strategies for Oregon that advance health equity and improve the health system.
HITOC and OHA welcome input on this Strategic Plan or other topics at any time. Engagement in HITOC's work is ongoing, and HITOC welcomes public comment either at its meetings or in writing at any time to HITOC.INFO@odhsoha.oregon.gov.
What health IT is and why it matters
Health IT is technology that individuals, health care providers, health systems, and health plans use to collect, store, access, organize, and share health information. Effective use of Health IT supports patient-centered care, ensuring that the right health information is available to health systems, providers, and patients at the right time and place. Timely access to health information improves communication, coordination, and efficiency across care providers and settings.
Health IT can help:
- Patients and consumers, and those they designate, access their own health information and engage in their care. In addition to patient portals, common health IT tools that patients use may include health apps and wearable health/activity monitors.
- Health care providers, such as physical, behavioral, and oral health, improve patient care through access to up-to-date health information. Common health IT tools for providers are EHRs that store and display health information and HIE that shares health information from one health care organization to another.
- Care teams and community-based organizations (CBOs) (1) coordinate patient care, sharing information and working together to improve health outcomes and reduce barriers, and (2) use CIE to connect people to services and resources for social needs like housing, food, and transportation.
- Identify health disparities and improve care quality and public health by providing data for coordinated care organizations (CCOs), health plans, providers, public health agencies, policymakers, researchers, community leaders, and others working to understand what's needed to improve the health care system.
Process
The Strategic Plan was developed over a multi-year process involving HITOC meetings, workgroups, staff support from the OHA Office of Health IT and Analytics Infrastructure, and extensive community engagement. Work on this Strategic Plan began in late 2019, paused in March 2020 due to COVID-19, and fully resumed in 2022.
Throughout the development process, HITOC members discussed the Strategic Plan components at their
meetings, which typically occur the first Thursday of even-numbered months. All HITOC meetings, workgroup meetings, and educational webinars were, and continue to be, open to the public. All recordings and materials can be found on HITOC's meeting website. Strategic Plan documents are also posted on our materials page.
HITOC also chartered a Health Information Exchange (HIE) Workgroup (completed August 2023) and a Community Information Exchange (CIE) Workgroup (completed November 2022) to dive more deeply into specific topics. These groups developed “concept papers" on their recommended strategies to accelerate, support, and improve HIE and CIE in Oregon to inform HITOC and OHA.
Key resources
Below are Key Resources for the developing Strategic Plan. Please see our
Materials and Resources page for additional resources, such as full Workgroup recommendations and legislative reports.
Everyone has a right to know about and use Oregon Health Authority (OHA) programs and services. For help please contact
HITOC.INFO@odhsoha.oregon.gov or (503) 373-7859 (voice/text). We accept all relay calls. Some examples of the free help OHA can provide are:
- Sign language and spoken language interpreters
- Written materials in other languages
- Braille
- Real-time captioning (CART)
- Large print
- Audio and other formats