The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is providing technical assistance to Medicaid and CHIP agencies to help them develop, implement, and participate in health information technology (health IT) and health information exchange (HIE). Through a contract with RTI International, AHRQ's technical assistance program will develop and provide a wide range of resources and tools to assist Medicaid and CHIP agencies in improving the delivery and coordination of care. In addition, these resources will improve the proactive management of health of Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries through the use of health IT. Finally, the program will be a resource for agencies needing assistance with plans for using or implementing HIEs to support internal and external business and operating needs and the efficient delivery of quality services.

The program includes several components:

• A needs assessment to determine the types of technical assistance that will be offered in subsequent years.
• A repository of information to support the technical assistance and disseminate best practices.
• Webinars and Web-based and in-person workshops.
• An ongoing learning community.

For additional information regarding the needs assessment, technical assistance, other tools to be provided, and participation, please read our Technical Assistance for Medicaid and CHIP Fast Facts. This document includes instructions on how to join our listserv and receive current updates on project news and offerings.

Communities of Practice

Privacy and Security

Domain: Privacy and security issues and concerns related to Medicaid and CHIP adoption of health IT and participation in HIEs. Examples include:

a)  Federal law and regulation on specific types of health information (e.g., substance abuse, mental health) and changes to HIPAA in the Recovery Act.

b)  Implications of Medicaid/CHIP participation in health information exchange led by others or initiated by Medicaid/CHIP agencies themselves.

c)  Privacy and security implications of Medicaid-developed and/or funded EHRs, personal health records (PHRs), or e-Prescribing tools.

Community: Privacy and security leaders within Medicaid and CHIP agencies, legal counsel representatives, CIOs, and MMIS/MITA Project Directors.

Practice: CoP participants will continue to share information and experiences with each other on the following practices:  their analysis of Federal law and how it has impacted their health IT or HIE projects; the privacy and security policies they are putting in place to maintain compliance with recent changes in Federal law and regulation; the privacy and security standards that they require when entering an agreement to participate in health information exchange; and the privacy and security analysis they conduct of internally or externally developed PHRs, EHRs, or e-Rx tools that they distribute to or encourage among health care providers.

Sustainability and Funding

Domain: Start-up funding and ongoing support-related issues and challenges in health IT and HIE adoption by Medicaid and CHIP agencies.  This has included discussion of how CMS planning documents and ONC funding mechanisms can be used to develop and execute strategic plans for future sustainability of health IT and HIE plans.

Community: Program leads for Medicaid/CHIP health IT and HIE projects.

Practice:  CoP participants will continue to share information and experiences with each other on the following practices:  strategies for developing Medicaid health IT plans and statewide HIE plans that are complementary and mutually supportive; using appropriate P-APD documents and funding streams for different health IT initiatives or HIE links with public or private sector entities; addressing staff development to meet the objectives in health IT plans; how to plan for MMIS updates so that health IT and HIE initiatives can be sustained; and how to evaluate the costs and revenues (or cost savings) associated with health IT and HIE initiatives.

CHIP and Children's Issues in Health IT and HIE

Domain: Issues and challenges in health IT and HIE adoption by stand-alone CHIP agencies, or in the Children's Health Insurance Program within Medicaid agencies, that that may be different from issues and challenges specific to the adult population.

Community: Leaders in health IT and HIE projects within CHIP agencies or programs.

Practice:  CoP participants will continue to share information and experiences with each other on the following practices:  using health IT systems and data to develop quality measures; inclusion of children’s issues and child-related programs in governance of HIE and importance of identifying HIE efforts at the state level; privacy issues specific to children’s information into health IT and HIE policies; and others to be identified.

To find out more information about the Communities of Practice or to inquire about joining a Community of Practice, email Stephanie Kissam at skissam@rti.org.

Medicaid and CHIP Repository

The Medicaid and CHIP Repository allows users to search for content on Health IT and HIE issues directly related to Medicaid and CHIP agencies. General overview materials provide basic information about the emerging relationship between Health IT/HIE and Medicaid and CHIP agencies. The remaining content is organized into three main categories: Policy, Technology, and Evaluation. The entire collection of documents may be searched, or any of these three areas may be searched for specific resources. To learn more about the resources available, visit the Repository.

Contact Information
Click here to subscribe to the listserv (or follow instructions below to subscribe):

1. Send an E-mail message to: listserv@list.ahrq.gov.
2. On the subject line, type: Subscribe.
3. In the body of the message type: sub Medicaid-SCHIP-HIT and your full name. For example: sub Medicaid-SCHIP-HIT John Doe.
4. You will receive a message asking you to confirm your intent to sign up.

For additional information, please contact Medicaid-SCHIP-HIT@ahrq.hhs.gov or call 1-866-253-1627.