A PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATIVE
The Georgia Health Information Network (GaHIN) serves with the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) and the Georgia Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (GA-HITEC) in a public-private collaborative to establish Georgia's statewide health information exchange, to connect Service Area HIEs, large integrated health systems, payers, wellness partners and other health care stakeholders. These organizations have come together to enable statewide electronic health information network through governance, project management, policy development, business and financial planning, technical infrastructure development, marketing, and stakeholder engagement.
MEET THE ORGANIZATIONS GEORGIA HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK, INC.
In 2013, the GaHIN will make available resources for health care providers to:
• Connect to the Georgia Health Information Exchange network
• Identify resources that can help hospitals, physicians, and others adopt and implement electronic health records
• Ensure the integrity and privacy of patient health information • Keep Georgia providers informed about the latest developments in health information technology
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH
The Department of Community Health (DCH) is the recipient of a federal American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant with funds being used to build the information technology infrastructure to support health information exchange across Georgia. In 2009, the Department of Community of Health submitted an application for the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program. In February 2010, the Office of National Coordinator (ONC) selected DCH as a grantee of a cooperative award in the amount of $13,003,003. In January 2011, DCH applied for and was awarded a Challenge Grant from the ONC for $1,689,992 to develop and implement a Consumer-Mediated Information Exchange in Rome, Georgia. For more information, read the project narrative.
GEORGIA HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY REGIONAL EXTENSION CENTER
The National Center for Primary Care (NCPC) located at the Morehouse School of Medicine was the recipient of approximately $19.5 million in ARRA funding for the creation of a Georgia regional extension center. Out of this funding, the NCPC created the Georgia Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (GA-HITEC). Since its inception, GA-HITEC has provided technical assistance to 4,250 primary care physicians to help them adopt certified electronic health records (EHRs) and use interactive and interoperable health information technology.