National HIE Organization Holds First Annual Meeting, Outlines Key Goals

The Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative (SHIEC), a national consortium formed late last year, produced some key initiatives during its first annual meeting on Oct. 5.

The meeting, held this past week in Deer Valley, Utah, produced several key initiatives and elected the 2015-2016 SHIEC Board of Directors.  Last December, a group of approximately 20 HIEs formed a consortium to share best practices and ideas about business improvements, and work together on public education and advocacy. SHIEC members now total 28 HIEs across the country, representing nearly 90 million covered lives.

A key point of discussion at the conference concerned the position of community and regional HIEs in the national healthcare landscape. “Healthcare is inherently local, and our HIEs are at the heart of the communities we serve,” John Kansky, president and CEO of the Indiana Health Information Exchange and newly elected SHIEC board member, said in a statement. “While we are not the only source for secure information sharing, in our local communities we are the trusted data source that bridges information gaps, providing more complete patient records,” he added.

This first national meeting was very successful, according to the group’s executive director, Robert Steffel. “One very important takeaway of our first meeting was a validation of the value and purpose of this national consortium and trade association,” Steffel said. “There is clearly an agenda and a direction for SHIEC.”