Program Aims To Spur Rapid Advances in Nationwide Electronic Health Information Exchange Innovation
The eHealth Exchange (@eHealthExchange), one of the nation’s largest health information networks connecting federal agencies and providers, launched the eHealth Exchange Innovation Grant program. The program seeks to award as much as $550,000 in grants and other incentives to organizations pursuing innovative ways to increase exchange of electronic health information (EHI) or establish new technical advancements in connectivity.
“With all great technological advances – from the early days of the internet to self-driving cars – early progress is marked by slow, incremental change. But then a tipping point is reached, and significant innovations happen on what seems like a daily basis,” explained Jay Nakashima, eHealth Exchange executive director. “Health data sharing is now at this critical moment, and the eHealth Exchange wants to play an instrumental role in driving toward the health IT future we’ve talked about and worked toward for more than a decade.”
The non-profit health information network is optimistic its public-benefit grant program will encourage innovation in how health information is exchanged and used.
Nakashima continued, “Over the past decade, we’ve implemented the infrastructure for secure electronic health information exchange and achieved an impressive level of comfort and expectation for certain types of exchange. It’s time to build on this base of connectivity and get to the next level of data sharing as quickly as possible. We can’t wait to see the explosion of ways in which health data will be used for everything ranging from patient-focused mobile health apps to improved clinical decision support.”
Grant applicants are encouraged to submit proposals that might increase exchange by leveraging HL7® Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) or other eHealth Exchange technical specifications. Grant awardees will be responsible for producing an implementation guide for the project that will benefit the broader community of eHealth Exchange and its participants. All proposals should provide implementation, testing, and production details.
The eHealth Exchange Innovation Grant is open to eHealth Exchange participants and any eHealth Exchange-eligible applicants. Organizations also may team for a multi-organizational application.
eHealth Exchange anticipates as many as three awards, each valued as much as $100,000, for one-year, milestone-driven grants. Successful grantees will receive a credit for eHealth Exchange participation fees previously paid in 2022 (if any), and they may have fees waived in 2023, provided that the solution is fully operational in production. eHealth Exchange expects to perform significant technical coordination and testing throughout the project.
To learn more about the eHealth Exchange Innovation Grant and apply, visit the eHealth Exchange website.
About the eHealth Exchange
The eHealth Exchange, a 501(c)3 non-profit, is among the oldest and largest health information networks in America and is most well-known as the principal way the federal government shares data between agencies and with the private sector. The eHealth Exchange network, which is working in 75 percent of all U.S. hospitals, is leveraged by more than 30 electronic health record (EHR) technologies and 61 regional and state health information exchanges (HIEs). Five federal agencies (the Department of Defense, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Food and Drug Administration, Indian Health Service, and the Social Security Administration) participate in the network to share patient information with private sector partners as well as with other agencies. In all, the eHealth Exchange supports the secure exchange of the records of more than 120 million patients. The eHealth Exchange intends to be among the first of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) Qualified Health Information Network (QHINs).