FARMINGTON, Conn. and AUSTIN, Texas, March 24, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization, and the Texas Health Services Authority (THSA) today announced the posting of TX-HIE accreditation program criteria for public review. The accreditation program is being designed to improve health information exchange (HIE) privacy, security, and interoperability and to provide a mechanism to establish trust in HIE for all Texans.
The criteria review period will last 60 days, commencing on March 24, 2014 and ending on May 23, 2014, and is open to feedback in the form of opinions, comments and suggestions from all interested parties on the necessity, appropriateness and workability of the criteria proposed for adoption.
The program will certify qualified HIE applicants within the State of Texas to ensure they are operating under accepted and uniform standards in the handling of protected health information (PHI). In partnership, EHNAC and THSA will review technical performance, business processes, resource management and other relevant information to ensure that accredited HIEs within Texas are interoperable with state and federal programs, and provide the private, secure and proper exchange of health information in accordance with established laws and public policy.
"Working with the Texas Health Services Authority on this important initiative in the State of Texas has enabled us to scale our general HIE accreditation model to the specific needs and legal requirements at the state level in addition to our existing national HIE program," says Lee Barrett, executive director, EHNAC. "Ultimately, we are confident that this accreditation model will infuse trust, security and sustainability to the HIE efforts in Texas and across the U.S."
"Increasing confidence and trust in organizations involved in exchanging and maintaining electronic health information will not only foster greater participation in HIEs, but also support sustainability of HIE efforts in Texas and across the United States," says Tony Gilman, chief executive officer, Texas Health Services Authority.
Once the state-wide HIE accreditation program is established following the 60-day public comment period, executives from EHNAC and THSA will participate in a public webinar in which staff will describe the program and key criteria to all stakeholders. The program's formal launch is expected in June 2014. Visit www.ehnac.org for more details or to review the latest EHNAC criteria.
About EHNAC
The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) is a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization (SDO) established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange health care data. These entities include e-prescribing and EPCS solution providers, electronic health networks, financial services firms, health information exchanges, health information service providers, medical billers, third-party administrators, management service organizations, outsourced service providers, payers and vendors.
EHNAC was founded in 1993 and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. Guided by peer evaluation, the EHNAC accreditation process promotes quality service, innovation, cooperation and open competition in healthcare. To learn more, visit www.ehnac.org, contact info@ehnac.org, or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
About THSA
The Texas Health Services Authority (THSA) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2007 as a public-private partnership, legally structured as a non-profit corporation, to support the improvement of the Texas health care system by promoting and coordinating HIE and health information technology (HIT) throughout the state to ensure that the right information is available to the right health care providers at the right times. For more information, visit www.HIETexas.org.