An Update on the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

North Carolina Activities

NC Strategic Plan for HIT Submitted to Governor's Office
The final draft of the strategic plan for Improving Health and Healthcare in North Carolina by Leveraging Federal Health IT Stimulus Funds was submitted to Governor Perdue's office. Task Force Chair Steve Cline sent this note to NCHICA:

Thank you for all your hard work and expertise. I believe the report fairly represents the collective efforts of the entire Task Force. Our report will provide the basis for NC's application for ARRA funding. It was submitted to Dempsey Benton in the Office of Economic Recovery and Investment. We expect the Governor and her advisors to use the report to guide the decisions about how best to organize the state's HIT initiatives, identify a designated entity that could manage the ARRA funds and appoint a proposal writing team to begin work immediately.

NCHICA's participation in the HIT Strategic Planning Task Force was a tremendous help. Holt Anderson and Sam Spicer contributed a deep understanding of the issues and a wealth of expertise to the process. Andrew Weniger and the NCHICA NC HIE Council Committees also provided valuable input for the Task Force to consider. We are fortunate to have NCHICA and its members working in NC.

It has been an honor for me to lead this group of such accomplished individuals and recognized experts. The diversity of ideas and opinions no doubt lead us to a better outcome. I have learned a great deal about myself and believe our work will position NC well for the next stage of the process. Thank you again for your participation and support.

Sincerely,
Steve Cline, Chair
HIT Strategic Planning Task Force

We commend Steve and all the volunteer members of the Task Force who contributed their expertise to the development of this plan. We will let you know when the final draft is posted on the NC Recovery website.

NCHICA Submits Comments on Meaningful Use Definition
On June 26 NCHICA submitted comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT on the definition of "meaningful use" developed by the HIT Policy Committee. Click here to view the comments.

NC HIE Council Committees

• The Policy Development Committee will meet on July 22 from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm at the NCHICA office. Lunch will be served; please RSVP to mary@nchica.org if you plan to attend. Last month's session covered lessons learned from a similar effort in Massachusetts.
• The Finance & Administration Committee will meet on July 22 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at the NCHICA office.

National ARRA Activities

SSA Releases RFI for Disability Determinations
On June 29 the Social Security Administration (SSA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) for Authorized Release of Medical Information through Integration with the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). Click here to read it. The SSA is issuing this RFI to exchange information with industry related to its efforts to improve the speed and quality of its Disability Determination Process. Responses are due by noon on July 22. Andrew Weniger will coordinate NCHICA's response to this RFI. We welcome your organization's participation in this response, which should help explain North Carolina's readiness and interest in this important next step for the NHIN and HIE in North Carolina. Please plan to submit initial responses to questions #6 through #9 by July 9. NCHICA will be holding twice weekly update sessions by teleconference (Tuesday July 7, 14 & 21 at 1:30 and Friday July 10 & 17 at 3:00). If you'd like to participate, please email Andrew@nchica.org.

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NCHICA ARRA UPDATE is only sent to individuals associated with NCHICA member organizations. If you wish to be taken off the e-mail distribution list, contact mary@nchica.org.