The Office of Health IT supports and manages many programs and initiatives. Learn more about each below. Current programs and initiative include HIE onboarding program, Oregon Provider Directory, Medicaid EHR incentive program, and Community Information Exchange.
Initiatives
The Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) works to leverage local efforts already underway and connect to existing HIT resources when possible. In areas where there are gaps, OHIT supports the development of new HIT services. These new services will help health care organizations better coordinate and manage care.
Community information exchange (CIE) is a network of healthcare and human/social service partners using a technology platform with functions such as a shared resource directory, “closed loop” referrals, reporting, social needs screening, and other features to electronically connect people to social services and supports. Learn more about
CIE in Oregon.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released two health IT final rules requiring implementation of new interoperability policies in 2020. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Interoperability and Patient Access Final Rule focuses on patient access to electronic health information (EHI) and interoperability among providers, payers and patients. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act) Final Rule focuses on health IT certification, which applies to health IT developers; and policy guidance on what does not constitute information blocking, which applies to healthcare providers, health IT developers, and health information exchanges/networks.
Learn more about federal interoperability rules. Programs
The Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) manages programs that support the adoption of electronic health records, the secure exchange of information and the achievement of meaningful use. When possible, OHIT partners on existing efforts already underway to increase the use of health information technology to improve health and health care in Oregon.
The Health Information Exchange (HIE) Onboarding Program launched in January 2019 and concluded September 30, 2021 with the sunset of federal funding. The Program leveraged significant federal funding to increase Medicaid providers' capability to exchange health information by supporting the initial costs of connecting (onboarding) priority Medicaid providers to a community-based HIE. Provider participation in the program was voluntary and required CCO involvement. By the end of the Program, over $2.4 million had been spent successfully connecting 72 unique entities (109 individual sites), including: 11 behavioral health practices, four oral health clinics, 50 critical physical health entities, and seven major trading partners (hospital/health system/major referral center). Reliance eHealth Collaborative was selected as the HIE vendor through an RFP process.
The HIE Onboarding Closure Summary can be found here.
Learn more about the
HIE Onboarding Program
Launched in January 2018, HIT Commons is a public/private partnership designed to accelerate and advance health information technology adoption and use across the state, leverage public and private investments, and expand access to high value data sources (see EDIE and PDMP Integration initiatives). HIT Commons is co-sponsored by the Oregon Health Leadership Council (OHLC) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), and is jointly funded by OHA, hospitals, and health plans.
You can learn more on the
HIT Commons website.
Through the HIT Commons, the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Health Leadership Council and Appriss Health launched the statewide Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Integration initiative. For the first time, authorized Oregon prescribers and pharmacists can have one-click access to PDMP data within their own electronic workflow. This initiative aligns with broader state and federal efforts to increase the use of PDMPs to reduce inappropriate prescriptions, improve patient outcomes, and promote more informed prescribing practices.
You can learn more about the initiative on the HIT Commons PDMP page.
The Emergency Department Information Exchange (EDIE) provides real time notifications that allow Emergency Departments (ED) physicians to identify patients with complex care needs who frequently use the emergency room. EDIE brings to the attention of the attending ED physician, critical information related to alerts and care recommendations from the patients’ own health care team for better informed care. All hospitals in Oregon have adopted EDIE and ED physicians report finding significant value in receiving these notifications.
You can learn more about on the
HIT Commons EDIE page.
PreManage expands the notifications of ED utilization and inpatient admissions to other users such as health plans, Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs), and physical, behavioral and dental clinics. The result is improved communication and information sharing between hospitals, providers and health plans to provide higher quality care to patients, identify patients at risk for hospital readmission, reduce burdensome duplication of tests, and ultimately reduce reliance on costly EDs through better cross organizational coordination of care.
You can learn more about on the
HIT Commons PreManage page.
The Medicaid Electronic Health Care Record (EHR) Incentive Program provides incentive payments to eligible health care providers and hospitals as they adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology Hospitals and eligible health care providers who serve Oregon's Medicaid individuals and families can register and apply for federal funds to help support the implementation and use of certified electronic health record systems in their clinics. The program helps hospitals and providers make the switch to secure EHR systems and helps to facilitate better coordination of care.
Learn more on the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program page.
OHA ended the Oregon Provider Directory (OPD) effective June 30, 2021. You can learn more about the program and why it was ended at the OPD website.
After careful consideration, in light of changing national standards, we have decided to suspend the CQMR service. The CQMR has been a core component of OHA's efforts to ensure quality in the Medicaid program while supporting value-based payment and addressing provider burden. Specifically, the CQMR was intended to provide a streamlined solution for reporting, delivering efficiencies in data collection and reducing reporting burdens by leveraging national standards. the CQMR was used to collect electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program and CCO quality incentive metrics program. Providers also had the option to use to CQMR for report eCQMs to CMS for the CPC+ and MIPS programs. OHA remains committed to the goals of collecting robust clinical data on outcomes measures to support health system transformation.
Learn more about the CQMR.
The Flat File Directory (FFD) services ended in August 2021.
Learn more on our
Flat File Directory page.