§ 9351 - Health information technology plan
§ 9351. Health information technology plan
(a) The secretary of administration or designee shall be responsible for the overall coordination of Vermont's statewide health information technology plan. The secretary or designee shall administer and update the plan as needed, which shall include the implementation of an integrated electronic health information infrastructure for the sharing of electronic health information among health care facilities, health care professionals, public and private payers, and patients. The plan shall include standards and protocols designed to promote patient education, patient privacy, physician best practices, electronic connectivity to health care data, and, overall, a more efficient and less costly means of delivering quality health care in Vermont.
(b) The health information technology plan shall:
(1) support the effective, efficient, statewide use of electronic health information in patient care, health care policymaking, clinical research, health care financing, and continuous quality improvements;
(2) educate the general public and health care professionals about the value of an electronic health infrastructure for improving patient care;
(3) ensure the use of national standards for the development of an interoperable system, which shall include provisions relating to security, privacy, data content, structures and format, vocabulary, and transmission protocols;
(4) propose strategic investments in equipment and other infrastructure elements that will facilitate the ongoing development of a statewide infrastructure;
(5) recommend funding mechanisms for the ongoing development and maintenance costs of a statewide health information system, including funding options and an implementation strategy for a loan and grant program;
(6) incorporate the existing health care information technology initiatives to the extent feasible in order to avoid incompatible systems and duplicative efforts;
(7) integrate the information technology components of the Blueprint for Health established in chapter 13 of this title, the agency of human services' enterprise master patient index, and all other Medicaid management information systems being developed by the office of Vermont health access, information technology components of the quality assurance system, the program to capitalize with loans and grants electronic medical record systems in primary care practices, and any other information technology initiatives coordinated by the secretary of administration pursuant to section 2222a of Title 3; and
(8) address issues related to data ownership, governance, and confidentiality and security of patient information.
(c) The secretary of administration or designee shall update the plan annually to reflect emerging technologies, the state's changing needs, and such other areas as the secretary or designee deems appropriate. The secretary or designee shall solicit recommendations from Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) and other entities in order to update the health information technology plan pursuant to this section, including applicable standards, protocols, and pilot programs, and may enter into a contract or grant agreement with VITL or other entities to update some or all of the plan. Upon approval by the secretary, the updated plan shall be distributed to the commission on health care reform; the commissioner of information and innovation; the commissioner of banking, insurance, securities, and health care administration; the director of the office of Vermont health access; the secretary of human services; the commissioner of health; the commissioner of mental health; the commissioner of disabilities, aging, and independent living; the senate committee on health and welfare; the house committee on health care; affected parties; and interested stakeholders.
(d) The health information technology plan shall serve as the framework within which the commissioner of banking, insurance, securities, and health care administration reviews certificate of need applications for information technology under section 9440b of this title. In addition, the commissioner of information and innovation shall use the health information technology plan as the basis for independent review of state information technology procurements.
(e) The privacy standards and protocols developed in the statewide health information technology plan shall be no less stringent than applicable federal and state guidelines, including the "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information" established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and contained in 45 C.F.R., Parts 160 and 164, and any subsequent amendments, and the privacy provisions established under Subtitle D of Title XIII of Division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5, sections 13400 et seq. The standards and protocols shall require that access to individually identifiable health information is secure and traceable by an electronic audit trail.
(f) Qualified applicants may seek grants to invest in the infrastructure necessary to allow for and promote the electronic exchange and use of health information from federal agencies, including the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Federal Communications Commission. The secretary of administration or designee shall require applicants for grants authorized pursuant to Section 13301 of Title XXX of Division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5, to submit the application for state review pursuant to the process established in federal Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs. Grant applications shall be consistent with the goals outlined in the strategic plan developed by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the statewide health information technology plan. (Added 2009, No. 61, § 1.)