Minnesota e-Health Initiative

All communities and individuals benefit from and are empowered by information and technology that advances health equity and supports health and wellbeing.

• Empower individuals, families, and caregivers to use information and technology to make informed health and wellness decisions
• Promote research and implementation of evidence-based policies to support best practices and improve outcomes
• Improve community and public health through timely and actionable information
• Support providers, care teams, and services in the collection, use and sharing of information through technology and health information exchange
• Use information to advance knowledge, wisdom, and practice by assuring:
  • Strong leadership and strategic collaborations that support innovation and stay informed of trends influencing health and technology
  • Well-trained and educated e-health-savvy workforce
  • Sustainable and adaptable resources for guidance and implementation
  • Standards and policies for collection, use and sharing of information, including personal health and medicine and factors that influence health such as genetics, geography, and gender
  • Protection of health information and patient access to health information
  • Measurement of progress on the adoption and effective use of health information technology and health information exchange

The Minnesota e-Health Initiative takes collective action that meets the statutory requirements in Minnesota Statutes 62J.495 to advise the commissioner of health, provide guidance to the community, and

• Supports the vision and mission of the Minnesota e-Health Initiative
• Ensures that decisions are objective and align with science and evidence-based research
• Advances e-health equity and supports e-health across the care continuum
• Values integrity, quality and collaboration
• Considers all aspects of and factors influencing health and wellbeing
• Leverages current resources and opportunities
• Respects human dignity and promotes cultural competency

e-Health activities in Minnesota are coordinated by MDH through the Minnesota e-Health Initiative, a public-private collaborative that has broad support from health care providers, payers, and professional associations. The Initiative fulfills the statutory role of the Minnesota e-Health Advisory Committee and sets the gold standard nationally for a model public-private partnership.

• Minnesota e-Health HIE Task Force (2018-2019)

• e-Health Initiative Work Groups

The Minnesota e-Health Initiative provides feedback on state and federal definitions, criteria and/or proposed regulations relating to e-health. The feedback is provided in the form of a public coordinated responses in which members of the Initiative, work groups and the public participate.

2004 - 2009 The First Five Years

The Minnesota e-Health Initiative is established and significant progress on deployment and use of EHRs begins.

• 2004 – The Initiative is established and publishes the Minnesota e-Health Initiative Vision and Roadmap the following year.
• 2005 – The Minnesota e-Health Advisory Committee is established. The now annual Minnesota e-Health Summit is held with the theme, “A Private-Public Call to Action.”
• 2007 – Minnesota becomes the first state to establish electronic prescribing and interoperable EHR mandates. The Minnesota Health Records Act is recodified with privacy enhancements. The Initiative develops the comprehensive Statewide Plan to Achieve the EHR Mandate which is published in 2008.
• 2007-2010 – MDH awards approximately $17 million in state funds in grants and loans for EHR adoption.
• 2008 – The Minnesota e-Prescribing Mandate is enacted.
• 2009 – The federal HITECH Act is enacted and CMS EHR incentive programs for meaningful use are established.

2010 - 2015 The Federal HITECH and State Innovation Model (SIM) Years

As momentum continues with EHR adoption, the focus shifts to HIE and meaningful use for EHRs.

• 2010 – The CMS EHR incentive program begins, and five Minnesota programs receives $65 million in ONC/HITECH funding under the State HIE Cooperative Agreement Program – the highest single-state award in the nation. More progress is made with the establishment of the Minnesota Health Information Exchange and the Minnesota e-Health Profile; and the certification of the first HIE service provider.
• 2011 – Minnesota leads the nation in EHR adoption rates and receives the National Safe Rx Award from Surescripts. Real-time submissions to MIIC begin. Glacial Ridge Health System is the first Minnesota hospital to attest for meaningful use.
• 2011-2015 – Over $9 million in federal funds (HITECH and SIM) are awarded for HIE implementation and support.
• 2014 – EHRs are adopted by 99% of hospitals, 93% of clinics, 97% of local health departments; and 95% of pharmacies e-prescribe.

2016 - 2019 The HIE Years

The focus of the Initiative continues to evolve to address interoperability and improvements in data exchange with the launch and completion of the Minnesota HIE Study.

• 2016 – MDH begins the Minnesota HIE Study after the 2016 Minnesota Legislature requests a study to assess Minnesota’s legal, financial, and regulatory framework for HIE. DHS establishes the Encounter Alerting Service (EAS). The Initiative develops the Minnesota HIE Framework to Support Accountable Health, guidance for professionals, organizations and leaders on what is needed to achieve accountable care and health. The Advisory Committee endorses the Minnesota e-Health Roadmap for SIM Priority Settings.
• 2017-2018 – The Advisory Committee develops the Minnesota e-Health 2030 Planning Project: Recommendations for Improvement Report.
• 2018 – The Minnesota HIE Study Report is published with one of the key recommendations being creating a HIE Task Force to help move Minnesota in the direction of a “connected networks” model that will make essential HIE services accessible to all stakeholders statewide and be consistent with national initiatives.
• 2019 – The HIE Task Force publishes recommendations for Minnesota Connected Networks. The Advisory Committee endorses the HIE Task Force’s deliverables.
• 2019 – The EHR mandate is eliminated. The Initiative legislative report is published.

2020 - Present The COVID-19 and Federal Focus Years

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerates data exchange and data use. New federal laws and rules continue to advance interoperability standards and patient access to their data, as well as address administrative burden to improve patient outcomes (e.g. the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule).

• 2020 – Nearly every hospital is sending admission, discharge, and transfer event notifications (ADTs) for COVID-19 through EAS and this expands to all ADTs.
• 2021 – MDH’s oversight of HIE is revised to oversee HIO certification only.
• 2022 – The Minnesota HIE Oversight legislative report is published.