Governor's Office of Electronic Health Information

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear created the Governor's Office of Electronic Health Information with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to provide leadership for the development of the Kentucky Health Information Exchange (KHIE). The Cabinet, with the assistance of a KHIE Coordinating Council and committees has developed a combined State HIE Strategic and Operational Plan to guide the implementation of the KHIE statewide. The KHIE Coordinating Council is employing a highly structured, yet flexible, approach through which stakeholders are engaged in an iterative process that incrementally develops policies and procedures beginning with the formative stages and builds capacity to reflect the continuing growth and evolution of the KHIE.

Concurrent with the development of the state HIE Strategic and Operational Plan, the Cabinet is developing and piloting the KHIE with selected participants. The first phase of the KHIE is financed by a Medicaid Transformation Grant.

GOEHI Executive Order 08 14 09

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Health-related news happening in the commonwealth

To learn more about the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs, visit the CMS program website. The site includes information about eligibility, requirements, upcoming events and more.

To learn more about electronic health records and certification standards, visit the HHS/ONC website. This is the premier site for information about the benefits of using EHR technology in a meaningful way, local resources to assist in EHR adoption and more.

More information can be found on the CMS website.

The Governor's Office of Electronic Health Information Exchange (GOEHI) and the Kentucky Health Information Exchange (KHIE) are excited to announce that Feb. 2, 2011 was declared Kentucky Health Information Technology and Meaningful Use Awareness Day. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate designated this day in recognition that supporting the use of health information technology has the potential to improve patient healthcare outcomes and reduce health care costs by enhancing the quality, efficiency and safety of healthcare for all Kentuckians throughout the commonwealth. It was part of an overall effort to urge Kentucky physicians, hospitals, healthcare systems and other eligible healthcare professionals, legislators, associations and residents of the commonwealth to adopt and use health information technology.

Kentucky Hospital Statistics 2009

Kentucky Hospital Statistics 2009 is a comprehensive compilation of data on Kentucky hospitals, including trends through 2007. Data in this report is primarily based on the Kentucky Hospital Association Discharge Database, which includes data from billing forms for all patients hospitalized in a Kentucky facility. The report also includes data from the AHA Annual Survey of Hospitals and other state and national data reports.

This report provides data about the numbers, types and location of hospitals in Kentucky as well as utilization of services, hospital finances, quality indicators, workforce and the economic impact of Kentucky's hospitals as employers. It also contains information on Kentucky's changing demographics along with state rankings on mortality, health status and utilization measures.

To purchase the Kentucky Hospital Statistics 2009 report, please download the order form.

Kentucky Receives Nearly $10 million for eHealth

Kentucky has been awarded funding to expand and build a statewide health information exchange, receiving nearly $10 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment  funding to enhance the state's health information technology efforts. The funding will be administered by the Governor's Office of Electronic Health Information and will bolster initiatives to build a state health information exchange.

News Release

Kentucky to Receive Federal Matching Funds for Electronic Health Record Incentives Program

Kentucky's Medicaid program will receive $2.60 million in federal matching funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  for state planning activities necessary to implement the electronic health record incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Kentucky will use its federal matching funds for planning activities that include conducting a comprehensive analysis to determine the current status of health information technology activities in the state.

News Release

Final Rules for Electronic Health Record Standards for Certification and Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, Including Definition of Meaningful Use - July 13, 2010

Today, CMS and ONC jointly announced their final rules for both electronic health record certification and the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs, including the definition of meaningful use.

Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, eligible health care professionals and hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they adopt certified EHR technology and use it to achieve specified objectives. One of the two regulations announced today defines the meaningful use objectives that providers must meet to qualify for the bonus payments, and the other regulation identifies the technical capabilities required for certified EHR technology.

Announcement of today's regulations marks the completion of multiple steps laying the groundwork for the incentive payments program. With meaningful use definitions in place, EHR system vendors can ensure that their systems deliver the required capabilities, providers can be assured that the system they acquire will support achievement of meaningful use objectives and a concentrated five-year national initiative to adopt and use electronic records in health care can begin.

News release (CMS website) July 13