Arizona Initiatives
A number of state-wide efforts are already underway to put the technical, legal and procedural fundamentals in place to move ahead with health information infrastructure. Bookmark this page and return often to learn where you link to the latest developments and find information on where you or your organization find ways to take part in the process.
AZ Health Privacy Project
The Arizona Health Privacy Project is funded by HISPC, the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration project which was established and funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2006 with 34 states participating. The Arizona Government Information Technology Agency received $350,000 in 2006 to participate in the HISPC - Arizona Health Privacy Project. In 2008, an additional $414,000 was awarded to the agency to participate on a multi-state collaborative to address standards for health information exchange.
RHITA
Arizona's Government Information Technology Agency (GITA) manages the Rural Health Information Technology Adoption (RHITA) grant program to support the implementation of healthcare information technology and healthcare information exchange among rural healthcare providers. The current RHITA Program promotes the development of effective and secure Health Information Exchange (HIE) among medical providers serving rural Arizona.
AHCCCS, Arizona's Medicaid agency, was awarded a Medicaid Transformation Grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on January 25, 2007 to develop and implement a web-based health information exchange (HIE) utility to give all Medicaid providers instant access to patient's health records at the point of service. The Federal funds are being used to support the planning, design, development, testing, implementation and evaluation of the AHCCCS Health Information Exchange and Electronic Health Record (HIeHR) Utility.
PACeHR (pronounced "pacer") is Arizona's Purchasing & Assistance Collaborative for Electronic Health Records. New this year, this unique program was launched to accelerate EHR adoption, improve quality, safety and efficiency, and promote a community of information sharing. Targeting small and medium-sized practices, PACeHR aims to leverage economies of scale, strategic partnering, and the power of web-based technologies to assure that every clinician in Arizona will have access to an affordable, interoperable, CCHIT-certified, web-based electronic health record solution, support, and related products and services.
The selection process for PACeHR's inaugural products (slated for June 2009 availability) is underway. Proposals from EHR companies that responded to the request posted are being reviewed by an expert panel that includes representatives from Arizona's provider organizations.
SAHIE
The concept of a regional HIE for Southern Arizona got its formal start in early 2006. SAHIE grew from four initiating institutions in Phase One to now over 30 member organizations including hospitals, group practices, community physicians, health plans, diagnostic service organizations, the business community, and county administrations in Southern Arizona, as well as agencies of the State of Arizona. The mission is to improve the access, quality and safety of healthcare while reducing or stabilizing costs in Southern Arizona through the deployment of a regional, financially self-sustainable HIE. SAHIE is currently in the final stages of organizational and technology design, including vendor selection.
EAzRx
Arizona's statewide e-Prescribing initiative, EAzRx is a five-year plan to encourage provider adoption of electronic prescribing, either through a standalone e-Prescribing system or by e-Prescribing functionality fully integrated into an electronic medical record system.
Mission: Arizona Health-e Connection and its EAzRx Steering Committee are committed to enhancing patient safety through increased e-prescribing adoption by clinicians in Arizona. We will use the combined expertise of the EAzRx Steering Committee, Arizona Partnership for Implementing Patient Safety, providers, pharmacists, and other stakeholders to further the initiative.
