Established:  2004

Best Advice to New HIE:  Trust and commitment, not money or servers, are the first critical ingredients.

 The Wisconsin Health Information Exchange (WHIE) is a non-profit collaborative dedicated to information access to improve the quality, safety, efficiency and accessibility of health care and public health.  WHIE’s mission is to enable secure delivery of timely, accurate electronic health information to authorized users across the health system. WHIE’s CCBH grant supports development of broad-based stakeholder governance, and a pilot of federated access to three secure regional networks: EMSystem (emergency situational awareness); Health Alert Network (public health) and the Wisconsin Immunization Registry.  We are developing a sustainable business plan and information infrastructure to exchange high-value clinical information (like prescriptions and test results) to follow patients as they move between different healthcare organizations.  We are committed to evaluating the health and economic impact of each innovation in collaboration with experienced academic investigators. 

 WHIE’s evolution is planned in three phases.  First, is a subsidized three-year start-up of the organizational and technical framework for information exchange between members with electronic health information systems.  Phase two begins with the implementation of a self-sustaining business model in which exchange operation is supported primarily by stakeholders based on their anticipated economic benefit (e.g., savings to providers and insurers).  In phase three, we will seek to expand the number and variety of health organizations participating in the exchange, the types of information and applications available to members, and the geographic scope of exchange.

 As of December, 2004, a broad stakeholder membership has been developed; principals of governance bylaws are under discussion; a survey is underway to document the availability and format of existing electronic data and to prioritize use cases; three-way discussions on log-in, access and master patient indexing have begun between three existing secure networks; grant funding has been sought for additional exchange programs.

 Partnering Organizations: 

Original partners:

National Institute for Medical Informatics-Midwest
SE Wisconsin Bioterrorism Preparedness Group
City of Milwaukee Health Department
Wisconsin Division of Public Health
Southeast Wisconsin Regional Trauma Advisory Council
Wisconsin Health and Hospital Association
tMedical Society of Milwaukee County
Greater Milwaukee Business Foundation on Healt
Infinity Healthcare

Current membership includes 35 health systems, group practices, insurers, foundations, professional associations, consortia, vendors and individuals.

 

 For more information contact:

Seth Foldy, MD
414-339-3865
sfoldy@sbcglobalnet

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