Page 33 - Driving Public Health in the Fast Lane

We are developing a bidirectional electronic information exchange between
electronic health record systems and the department. We are using national
interoperability standards and the state’s health information exchange (a common
data collection capability) to facilitate the use of data submitted by external
organizations. The Health Information Exchange allows us to use one connection
point and one data use agreement to exchange a multitude of health data sets with
clinical partners for one annual flat cost. These data are taken in to our internal
routing system (another common capability) and sent to the correct database for
each data set.

An example is our Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). Integrating
the PMP into electronic medical record systems allows us to provide seamless
access to important data for addressing the opioid epidemic. This integration
allows providers to more easily review the prescription history of a patient and
make a more informed decision when prescribing opioids. We are seeing almost
immediate results from this improvement with over 20 million queries of the
PMP last year, almost twice the number of prescriptions dispensed. We have seen
improved prescribing practices from our state’s efforts and can share these data
at the state and local level through a shared tool for data visualization that many
programs use. For the PMP, prescribing practices are tracked using six different
metrics we calculate each calendar quarter. With the PMP, we are not only
collecting pharmacy data to perform public health surveillance—we are also giving
it back to our health care partners at the patient level to improve care. It highlights
what you can do when you share capabilities for exchange and visualization and
turn it into information.

The number, size, and complexity of our current surveillance data systems, as
well as the complexity of our funding structure, make it unlikely that we can
implement changes all at once for the many systems we have. Instead, we envision
a roll out of components over time. To do so requires a unique funding model
with cost allocation to the programs and populations that benefit. We will need to
use existing funding in combination with new funding opportunities and federal
matching to strategically purchase reusable, configurable, modular components,
which will meet multiple surveillance needs. This is all collectively worked on in
our agency as Data@Health and the Foundational Public Health Services.

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Our investments will need to take advantage of 21 century technological solutions
and shared platforms to help keep pace with information system innovations.
The hope is that by advancing and keeping pace with standards and our health
care partners, we may be able to apply these enhancements in the shared service
module rather than each program bearing the cost of upgrading each and every
silo. Such development is critical to maximally leverage the surveillance and
related data we collect to inform disease tracking, case management, clinical
decision-making, access to services, intervention effectiveness, and return on
investment—both for the Department and our partners.