among all 50 states. Texas has used its share of the federal money to establish HIEs in local communities. As of November, HHSC had awarded about $18.8 million in grants to fund the initial planning, development, and implementation of local HIEs in Texas. Mr. Gilman says HIEs used the funding in 2013 to support operations, including hiring personnel, deploying technology, connecting participants to local exchang- es, developing marketing materials, and preparing to link to HIETexas. For a map of HIE service areas, visit http://bit .ly/1bv7IYo.
HHSC awarded Greater Houston Healthconnect a $5.6 million grant. James Langabeer, PhD, chief executive officer of Greater Houston Healthcon- nect, says the exchange received its first grant payment from HHSC in 2011 and its final grant payment late last year. He says the HIE also receives money from private sources. “We’ve used about half of the grant money so far to hire employees, pur- chase and implement technology, and create policies and procedures for pa- tient consent,” he said.
Grant funding is winding down and will end for all HIEs next month, Mr. Gil- man says. Texas has 11 publicly funded HIEs. (See “HHSC-Funded HIEs,” at right.) “THSA anticipates this figure may change as federal funding winds down in March 2014. Although some HIEs may dissolve or cease to operate in 2014, we do not anticipate any gaps in HIE geographic coverage,” Mr. Gilman said. David Fleeger, MD, recognizes that the cessation of funding could be a big barrier for some HIEs. “Texas’ HIEs are in various stages of maturity,” said Dr. Fleeger, an Austin colorectal surgeon who’s a member of the Texas Medical Association Board of Trustees and THSA Board of Directors. The HIE he uses, for instance, pro-
vides a community record for several hundred thousand patients in Central Texas, but he’s unable to access patient information through his EHR. “The information must be accessed
through a different system, and this can be a bit cumbersome at times,” he said,
adding that these types of problems need to be addressed. While most HIEs in Texas are up and running and providing some services to physicians and hospitals, Dr. Fleeger says some aren’t yet fully functional. “HIEs have made great strides in the
past three years. Unfortunately, federal funding is drying up, and financial sus- tainability will be a major hurdle for many of the HIEs. It would not surprise me if we see some consolidation among the HIEs of Texas,” he said.
HHSC-funded HIEs
FirstNet Exchange Tyler
www.firstnetexchange.com (800) 328-1638
Greater Houston Healthconnect Houston
www.ghhconnect.org (832) 564-2599
Healthcare Access San Antonio San Antonio
www.hasatx.org (210) 918-1357
Integrated Care Collaboration Austin
www.icc-centex.org (512) 804-2090, ext. 30213
Health Information Partnership of Southeast Texas Conroe
www.hipset.org (936) 582-7282
North Texas Accountable Healthcare Partnership Dallas
www.ntahp.org (817) 274-6300
Paso del Norte Health Information Exchange El Paso
www.pdnhie.org (915) 544-7636
Rio Grande Valley HIE Harlingen
www.rgvhie.org (956) 622-5801
Rio One Health Network Edinburg
www.rioonehie.com (956) 362-3087
Southeast Texas Health System Goliad
www.seths.info (361) 645-1762
Health Information Network of South Texas Corpus Christi
www.hinstx.org (504) 838-1550
For more information, visit
www.hietexas.org.
February 2014 TEXAS MEDICINE 41
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