Groups Launch Regional Health Information Organization
Several California health care organizations on Tuesday launched the California Regional Health Information Organization to electronically link health care providers statewide, Health Data Management reports (Health Data Management, 4/20). CalRHIO is intended to promote local, regional and statewide projects that facilitate secure sharing of patient data (AHA News, 4/19).
San Francisco-based Health Technology Center and CEO Molly Coye temporarily will manage CalRHIO, but Coyle said plans call for the project to be spun off to an independent not-for-profit organization by next year.
National Health Information Technology Coordinator David Brailer said the main objective of regional health information organizations is to build public trust in health care information technology, protect privacy, integrate security techniques and align financial incentives for health care organizations.
The California HealthCare Foundation has provided $450,000 to pay for office space at the Health Technology Center and to sponsor five summit meetings for stakeholders including representatives from major hospital systems and academic medical centers, health plans, high-tech vendors and government, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health and the WellPoint Foundation each provided $1 million in grants to the initiative, and the University of California contributed $100,000. Lumetra, a not-for-profit quality-improvement organization, John Muir/Mt. Diablo Health System in Walnut Creek and Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles will provide additional funding (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 4/19).