Maine may become the first state in the country to offer residents access to their personal health records via a health information exchange.
As part of a federally-funded innovation project experimenting with a range of medical home, analytics and engagement strategies, Maine's HealthInfoNet statewide HIE recently issued a request for information, looking for a health organization in the state interested in linking their personal health record system with the state HIE database.
HealthInfoNet will take the PHR data and use Blue Button standards to let patients download a Continuity of Care Document that summarizes all their records in the HIE, not just from one organization.
“This pilot will be a great opportunity to build upon your current patient engagement campaigns and make you a national leader in the movement to provide patients access to their medical information,” Maine HealthInfoNet is telling health organizations in its pitch. It would be “especially valuable” for patients and caregivers managing chronic illnesses and complex care plans across different providers, the nonprofit HIE added.
[See also: Maine to connect veterans to HIE.]
Maine’s three largest health systems — MaineHealth, with the flagship medical center in Portland, Central Maine Medical Family and Eastern Maine Health System — could be good candidates for the pilot, along with dozens of small and medium-sized clinics and practices.
Maine is also a good state to pilot such a program: it has the oldest population in the country, and many seniors, especially those living in rural areas, are considered good candidates for home-based care that lets them age in place while still receiving community support.
The pilot is part of Maine’s state innovation model project, a federally-funded program that helps states experiment with new policies and then try to scale them.
Along with Arkansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon and Vermont, Maine is receiving $33 million from the feds, distributed by the state Department of Health and Human Services.
[See also: All Maine hospitals commit to HIE.]
Among other goals Maine HealthInfoNet is pursuing through the state innovation model program are integrating patient records with behavioral health providers, building on a current patient-centered medical home program, and analyzing clinical data from the HIE and claims data from the state’s all-payer claims database.
