Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC) To Provide Program Management Services For Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) Last Mile Program

MAeHC to Develop Comprehensive Plan to Maximize Connectivity and Effective Use of the State Health Information Exchange

The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC), a non-profit pioneer and leader in healthcare delivery through health information technology, announced recently that it will be providing Program Management services to support the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) Last Mile Program. The Last Mile Program aims to stimulate adoption and use of State Health Information Exchange (HIE) to improve coordination of care and clinical outcomes while reducing costs.

The ultimate goal of the program is to connect 50,000 providers in the state to The Massachusetts Health Information Highway (Mass HIway) over the next two years.

MAeHC will be primarily responsible for establishing a Program Management Office (PMO) to work with MeHI and Mass HIway in developing a comprehensive program plan and outreach strategy, ensuring alignment of all activities related to adoption goals and objectives. MAeHC will also work with MeHI and the leading EHR vendors in the state to streamline interface development and coordinate connections to the Mass HIway.

MAeHC will also develop the documentation needed to support broad community adoption in an effort to ease future implementations.

"We are ecstatic to be a part of such a groundbreaking project," said Micky Tripathi, President and CEO, Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative.

"The Last Mile Program is another major milestone for the state's health information exchange initiative, and demonstrates how far we have come in such a short time. We're confident in MeHI's vision for the program, and are looking forward to contributing to its success."

Through the delivery of sustainable strategies, deep expertise, and hands-on tactical support, MAeHC will bring together various healthcare communities and improve overall healthcare delivery for patients and providers within the state of Massachusetts. Further, the successful development and utilization of the PMO will enable MAeHC to provide the required oversight, vendor management, facilitation and coordination to keep the interface projects on task.

"The Mass HIWay has come a long way since its inception in 2011 through the launch in October 2012 and now into the rollout phase of the project," said Laurance Stuntz, Director of the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. "MAeHC has played a significant role in that progress, so we're thrilled that they have signed on for the Last Mile Project."

About Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI)
MeHI is the state's entity for health care innovation, technology, and competitiveness and is responsible for advancing the dissemination of health information technology throughout Massachusetts, including the deployment of electronic health records systems in all health care provider settings and connecting them through the statewide health information exchange.

Working closely with the Patrick-Murray Administration, the Legislature and health care leaders, the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is leading the state's efforts to further innovation in health IT across the Commonwealth. MeHI is one of sixty-two federally-designated Regional Extension Centers (REC) and the designated REC for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. MeHI is also the State Designated Entity for the ONC State Health Information Exchange Grant and administers the Medicaid EHR Incentive Payment Program for state's Office of Medicaid. For more information, please visit mehi.masstech.org.

About Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC)
The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative is a national leader in the facilitation and management of electronic health record deployment, health information exchange and quality measure reporting. MAeHC is an independent non-profit corporation with a charitable mission to improve the delivery of health care by promoting the use of health IT.  Formed in 2004 as a collaboration of non-profit health care stakeholders to demonstrate the most effective ways to deploy EHRs and HIE to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and affordability of care in Massachusetts, MAeHC now works across the United States with a wide range of physician practices, hospitals, state governments, contracting networks, management services organizations, HIE organizations, technology vendors, and consulting firms.  For more information, visit www.maehc.org.