The State of Maine and HealthInfoNet have been awarded a $600,000 contract to help support electronic sharing of health records among behavioral health providers and general medical providers in Maine. The contract was awarded by the  Center for Integrated Health Solutions (CIHS), which is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). Maine was one of only five states to be selected, adding to its long history of national leadership in health information technology. Other states awarded include Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma and Rhode Island.

Under the contract, HealthInfoNet will provide 25 behavioral health care organizations and 200 individual Maine providers with new ways to securely share medical records including use of the health information exchange (HIE). With patient consent, behavioral health providers will be able to share information electronically with general medical care providers also involved in their patients' care. 

HealthInfoNet would like to thank the Maine Health Access Foundation, the Hanley Center for Health Leadership, the Office of the State Coordinator for HIT and all the members of the Hanley Behavioral Health IT Task Force for their role in helping Maine be selected for this contract.  

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HealthInfoNet has been awarded a $198,659 two-year grant from the Maine Health Access Foundation to pilot linking the clinical health information exchange database with Maine's all-payer claims database. The goal of the pilot project is to demonstrate the integration of the two data sets, and build the capacity for the development of analytic tools that can integrate both quality and cost data. Once in place, these tools will give providers the means to more quickly identify and implement effective care improvement strategies that can contain costs and improve outcomes.  

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HealthInfoNet recently

celebrated the achievements of Wilson Stream Family Practice in a ceremony held January 11th in Farmington. The providers at Wilson Stream are the first of 1,000 enrolled with the Maine Regional Extension Center to receive recognition from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for achievement of meaningful use. Wilson Stream is among only 4% of the over 100,000 providers enrolled in this program across the country to reach this milestone. 

They are also the first independent practice in the REC program to connect with the health information exchange (HIE). "Using HealthInfoNet's statewide system I can follow their care if I send them to the hospital," said Dr. Steve Bien, co-founder of Wilson Stream Family Practice. "With all their medical information organized in one place I'm more prepared when I walk into the exam room. This helps me spend more time focusing on my patients' needs instead of chasing paperwork."  

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HealthInfoNet continues to connect new facilities across the State. A milestone for the organization, HealthInfoNet made its first connection to the long-term care community in December. Bangor Beacon participants Ross Manor and Stillwater Nursing Home now both have view-only access to their patients' information in HealthInfoNet. View-only means that clinicians can see information in HealthInfoNet's system, but their electronic health record isn't contributing information. Clinicians at Penobscot Community Healthcare, a FQHC serving over 50,000 patients in the Bangor region, also began using the health information exchange in December. 

Looking ahead, HealthInfoNet will provide view-only access to Acadia Hospital, which will be the first licensed mental health facility to participate with the HIE. Waiting in the wings are Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth, and Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor, which will all connect bi-directionally (viewing and contributing information) in the first half of 2012.