Surescripts and Michigan Health Information Network Enter Connectivity and Information Exchange Agreement

Surescripts' Clinical Interoperability network and MiHIN's Direct Secure Email will work together to route electronic health information

EAST LANSING, Mich., April 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) has entered into an agreement with Surescripts allowing users of Surescripts' Clinical Interoperability network to send electronic health information to the State of Michigan's public health reporting systems through MiHIN and the Michigan Department of Community Health.

MiHIN and Surescripts entered into an agreement based on the DirectTrust technical, legal, and business security and privacy standards for Healthcare Information Service Provider (HISP) connectivity.   Michigan is a leader in interstate health information exchange and has successfully established Direct HISP to HISP connectivity with several other states using ONC-approved Federally-bridged security certificates.

"Our agreement with MiHIN is another example of how Surescripts is transforming health care by enabling secure exchange of electronic information within and across the many diverse participants in the healthcare industry," said Jeff Miller, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Clinical Interoperability for Surescripts.  "Our Clinical Interoperability network offers robust and innovative solutions that support standard formats, workflow, processes and customized message content to facilitate communications between healthcare organizations and drive better care coordination."

Connecting the two solutions will allow health care providers in Michigan who are already using the Surescripts network to send a wide variety of information, such as Clinical Quality Measures and quality reports for participation in quality improvement programs and future Meaningful Use attestation.

"There are many Use Cases where Direct is the fastest, simplest, lowest-cost solution for providers to exchange health information securely," said Jeff Livesay, MiHIN Associate Director.  "This leap forward for Michigan via Surescripts will allow MiHIN to more rapidly fulfill its charter to improve the quality and decrease the cost of patient care at the point of care." 

"We like Surescripts' strategy of embedding Direct into electronic health record vendor solutions to make it easier for providers to attest to Meaningful Use Stage Two. This fits well with MiHIN's plans for robust interstate connectivity. The qualified HIEs in Michigan participating in MiHIN are actively connecting with HISPs in other states, continuing to expand Michigan's footprint for health information exchange."

MiHIN includes a dynamic group of organizations already engaged in electronic health information exchange within Michigan including the State of Michigan's Department of Community Health (MDCH), the Southeast Michigan Beacon Community based in Detroit, and all six sub-state health information exchanges in Michigan which have signed up with MiHIN as Qualified Data Sharing organizations (QO's):

Great Lakes Health Information Exchange (GLHIE), based in East Lansing;
Ingenium, based in Bingham Farms;
Jackson Community Medical Records (JCMR), based in Jackson;
Michigan Health Connect (MHC), based in Grand Rapids;
Southeast Michigan Health Information Exchange (SEMHIE), based in Ann Arbor;
Upper Peninsula Health Information Exchange (UPHIE), based in Marquette.

About Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN)
MiHIN is dedicated to improving the healthcare experience, improving quality and decreasing cost for Michigan's people by supporting the statewide exchange of health information and making valuable data available at the point of care.  MiHIN is a public and private nonprofit collaboration between the State of Michigan, the Office of the National Coordinator, sub-state Health Information Exchanges, insurers, payers, providers and patients.  For more information please visit www.mihin.org. 

About Surescripts
The Surescripts network supports the most comprehensive ecosystem of healthcare organizations nationwide.  Pharmacies, payers, pharmacy benefit managers, physicians, hospitals, health information exchanges and health technology firms rely on Surescripts to more easily and securely share health information.  Guided by the principles of neutrality, transparency, physician and patient choice, open standards, collaboration and privacy, Surescripts operates the nation's largest health information network.  By providing information for routine, recurring and emergency care, Surescripts is committed to saving lives, improving efficiency and reducing the cost of health care for all.  For more information, go to www.surescripts.com and follow us at twitter.com/surescripts.

SOURCE Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services