Connecticut Health Information Exchange and E-Prescribing Initiative (HIE/EPI) Abstract
In 2007, 27 states received Medicaid Transformation Grants under Section 6081 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The grants were rewarded to states that proposed innovative methods which in the end of the two years are designed to produce better health outcomes at lower cost.
The Center for Health Transformation is highlighting states that have received these Medicaid Transformation Grants, and will be following their progress for the next two years. In order for key decisionmakers and industry leaders from around the country to learn from others’ successes, it is our intention to provide this resource in order to showcase innovative practices from across the nation. In the future, this site will be interactive, allowing program directors to submit updates and comments regarding their program.
The overall goal of the Connecticut Health Information Exchange and E-Prescribing Initiative (HIE/EPI) is to design, implement, and evaluate a statewide comprehensive health information exchange system for Connecticut’s Medicaid beneficiaries. Anchored by a unique collaboration between Connecticut’s Department of Social Services (DSS), and Connecticut’s Health Information Exchange Organization, eHealth Connecticut, the proposed HIE project has great potential to promote broad health care delivery system change in Connecticut. We propose the creation of an e-prescribing system which also links physicians and other healthcare providers of accurate patient diagnoses, current medication lists, drug allergies, and adverse drug events. E-prescribing can circumvent medication errors and control costs through the appropriate use of generic drugs and adherence to preferred drug lists. Connecticut’s HIE/ EPI project aims to improve the safety, efficiency and quality of healthcare for Medicaid beneficiaries through targeted collaborative technology implementations. The Connecticut HIE/EPI is expected to improve clinical decisions by aggregating medical information from a variety of sources and making this information available at the point of care. Furthermore, the project aims to implement e-prescribing to a limited number of licensed health care providers in order to reduce medication expenses incurred by Medicaid through greater use of generic drugs and adherence to the preferred drug lists. The Connecticut HIE/EPI will begin by focusing on Connecticut’s non-dual eligible Medicaid population, but will be eventually expanded to all Medicaid beneficiaries, and will be able to support additional capabilities such as disease management, quality improvement, evaluation, surveillance, and research. The expected outcomes of the Connecticut HIE/EPI project are a long-term reduction in overall Medicaid spending, an increase in preferred drug list usage by licensed health care professionals serving Medicaid beneficiaries, reduced therapeutic duplication of prescriptions, and decreased administrative costs associated with prior authorization (PA). The projected budget for Connecticut’s HIE/EPI is $5.5 million dollars over two years. It should be noted that $500,000 in state matching funds have been committed to this effort in addition to the $5 million requested in this application.
