A pair of bills introduced in the Michigan Legislature in late October would create a state-designated health data utility (HDU) to combine, enhance and exchange electronic health data for various purposes, including treatment, coordination of care, quality improvement and public health.
State Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo), chairwoman of the House Health Policy Committee, introduced House Bill 5823 along with HB 5824 by Minority Vice Chairperson State Rep. Curt VanderWall (R-Ludington ). Lawmakers said the bills would go beyond health. information sharing model currently operated by the Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN) Shared Services. Implementing an HDU provides the opportunity to modernize Michigan’s public health data collection and ensure nearly instantaneous and secure sharing of medical records with healthcare providers.
The health data utility model is gaining popularity in several states. As Healthcare Innovation reported in July 2023, the state of Maryland has designated CRISP as the state’s health data utility. State law requires CRISP to provide real-time data to individuals and organizations involved in the treatment and care coordination of patients and to public health agencies. The legislation also required the Maryland Department of Health, nursing homes, e-health networks and prescription drug dispensers to provide data to the state-designated HIE. The article notes that similar efforts are underway in Missouri and Michigan, while California is working on its own version of a required data sharing framework.
Tim Pletcher, CEO of MiHIN, said Healthcare innovation That the conversations he has with legislators in Michigan have changed dramatically in recent years and there is greater openness to the importance of a health data utility model. “I think COVID made certain things easier,” she said. “COVID was basically the equivalent of 9/11 for social services and equity and a lot of what we do in public health. There was a lack of infrastructure and a lack of coordination. People who were not used to working with their HIE duplicated resources and wasted a lot of time. “I think the utility of health data will largely be a model for economies of scale.”
Pletcher adds that when looking at legacy systems in isolation, most state and county social services programs can’t tell if they are dealing with the same person. “We HIEs have been struggling with finding patients for years and have done quite well. Some of us have even progressed to consent and other difficult issues. It will take them a decade to achieve this if they do not build on this infrastructure. “We want to leverage these basic utility services to do more and more.”
Once you start looking at things like SNAP, children’s services and doing a better job of preventing people from getting sick, that’s much broader than just the social determinants of health, Pletcher said. “It is a complete intersectoral infrastructure. “Suddenly, we realize we need a utility.”
Pletcher added that transparency is a key issue as health data services companies reach stakeholders beyond traditional health system partners. “As we expand into these other cross-sector areas, we cannot be dominated by health plans or large hospitals. Governance, particularly the operational governance of things, has to evolve. I think that will come with more public sector funding. The trick will be to do it in a way that politics does not ruin the ability to execute.”
“Most of us have experienced a family member or been in situations where our medical team is flying blind without a complete picture of our medical history, including medications we are taking, allergies we may have, and surgical procedures in our history. “Often, medical decisions are made based on limited information that can literally have life-or-death consequences,” Rogers said in a statement. “These bills strengthen the existing framework already established in Michigan under MiHIN and are an important step forward in ensuring that comprehensive health data is shared seamlessly, regardless of the healthcare setting, so that the whole person can be evaluated and treated comprehensively. comprehensive and individualized manner.”
The bills have been referred to the House Health Policy Committee.
