Skip to main content

Oregon State Flag An official website of the State of Oregon »

Oregon.gov Homepage

Oregon's Health IT Strategic Plan

What is Oregon's Health IT Strategic Plan

Oregon's Health IT Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan) provides high-level priorities for information technology (IT) over the next five years. It outlines the overall vision and the focus areas for partners across the health IT landscape in Oregon. The Strategic Plan is for everyone using or impacted by health IT in Oregon. The strategies from the statewide Strategic Plan touch individuals (consumers/patients), providers and clinic staff, community-based organizations (CBOs), hospitals, health systems, coordinated care organizations (CCOs) and health insurance companies, technology partners, state agencies, and more.

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. The Health Information Technology Oversight Council (HITOC) is responsible for setting health IT strategies that support Oregon’s health equity goals and improve the health system. 

Initial work to update the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan began in late 2019, but was paused in March 2020 due to COVID-19. In 2022, HITOC resumed work to develop Oregon’s Health IT Strategic Plan 2024-2028. 

Sign up to receive updates here!

What is health IT and why it matters

Technology plays a big part in our everyday lives, including health care. People use health IT to collect, store, access, organize, and share health information. It is the technology that individuals, health care providers, and health systems use. Health IT can help:

  • Individuals, and those they designate, access their own health information and engage in their care through tools like patient portals (like MyChart) or apps and wearable monitors that patients use as part of managing their health
  • Health care providers, such as physical, behavioral, and oral health, improve patient care through access to up-to-date health information using tools like electronic health records (EHRs) that store and display health information and health information exchange (HIE) that shares health information from one health care organization to another
  • Care teams and community-based organizations (CBOs)
    • Share information and work together to improve health outcomes and reduce barriers, and
    • Connect people to services and resources to address social needs, such as housing, food, and transportation, through tools like community information exchange (CIE), which improves health outcomes
  • Coordinated care organizations (CCOs), health plans, and providers measure quality, analyze data, and identify health disparities to understand what's needed to improve the health care system

How to share your input

HITOC and OHA are seeking input from communities, health care partners, and all partners interested in or impacted by health IT! Your input on where health IT is working well and where Oregon needs to change course is critical. There are three ways to provide your input:

  1. Attend a listening session webinar! Listening sessions are open to the public, and everyone is welcome. They are designed to capture community feedback through open discussion with opportunity for questions and answers. HITOC and OHA wants to hear from all people across Oregon on their experiences with health IT, and their thoughts on the developing health IT strategies.

    2. OHA welcomes all participants. If you have any questions about accommodations or need any assistance to participate in a webinar please contact: HITOC.INFO@odhsoha.oregon.gov or (503) 373-7859 (voice/text). All relay calls are accepted.


  2. Submit written comment: Share your experiences with health IT by emailing HITOC.INFO@odhsoha.oregon.gov before 10/1/23. Some examples of questions to consider are:
  3. Make public comment at a HITOC meeting (click link for how to attend)


To see a summary of past engagement see: Existing Community Engagement and Input Report 2018-2022.

Where HITOC needs your input: HITOC and OHA need your input on the developing vision, principles, goals, and strategies for health IT. Please see the Call for Input and Overview (Español) for more details on HITOC's developing strategic plan areas.

You can learn more on our How to share your input page.

Process

HITOC discusses components of the Strategic Plan at their meetings, which occur the first Thursday of every even month. All HITOC meetings, workgroup meetings, and educational webinars are open to the public. You can view the schedule for upcoming HITOC meetings here. All HITOC and workgroup meetings are recorded, and slides and materials from each meeting are posted on the respective websites. Any strategic plan documents will be posted on our materials page as they develop.

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.

In addition, OHA staff support this work in several ways: providing background and landscape on health IT topics, slides and documents describing health IT challenges and opportunities, facilitating HITOC discussion and public listening sessions, and summarizing HITOC goals and strategies under consideration for public input.

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