Public Sector Health Informatics Policy (PSHIP)

The role of the PSHIP research group at CHPR is to assist public sector programs in harnessing the transformative power of health informatics to promote quality, efficiency, and improved health outcomes for those served by these programs. This will be accomplished by:

• Performing applied policy research on the intersection of health information technology, health information exchange, and health care delivery for persons served by public agencies.
• Working with public agencies to evaluate the outcomes (cost, quality, and access) from the use of health information technologies.
• Helping the public sector design mechanisms for leveraging health informatics to improve program effectiveness, to measure and improve quality, and to promote transparency and value-driven health care.

Projects:

• Opportunities for Facilitating Electronic Health Information Exchange in Publicly Funded Programs– CHPR is assisting the National Governors Association's State Alliance for eHealth to assist the State Alliance with the development of actionable recommendations regarding HIE activities for states to consider in order to enhance their Medicaid, SCHIP, public health, and state employee health programs.
• Establishing a Foundation for Medicaid's Role in the Adoption of Health Information Technology: Opportunities, Challenges, and Considerations for the Future– The goal of this project, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), was to clarify the key issues and challenges for Medicaid’s participation in HIT and HIE efforts, and to present opportunities for state Medicaid agencies and researchers to leverage the potential of HIT and HIE to control costs and improve the quality of care for Medicaid recipients. 
• HIT Policy Support for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS)

HIT/HIE Publications and Presentations: 

•   "Clinical Health Information Technologies and the Role of Medicaid"  - Published in the Winter 2007 edition of the CMS Journal Health Care Financing Review 
• AHRQ report webpage on "Establishing a Foundation for Medicaid's Role in the Adoption of Health Information Technology: Opportunities, Challenges and Considerations for the Future" 
•  Health Information Technology Adoption in Massachusetts: Costs and Timeframe- presented to the eHealth Initiative "Connecting Communities for Better Health Initiative" 

PSHIP Staff: 

• Jay Himmelstein, MD, MPH, Chief Health Policy Strategist, Center for Health Policy and Research
• Shaun Alfreds, MBA, CPHIT, Senior Project Director
• Eric Masters, MPH, Research Coordinator

Contact: 

For more information about CHPR’s Public Sector Health Informatics Policy (PSHIP), please contact Shaun.Alfreds@umassmed.edu