(WASHINGTON, DC) – The DC Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) today released the District’s State Medicaid Health Information Technology Plan (SMHP) for 2018 – 2023.

The plan presents a roadmap to advance the use of health information technology (health IT) in the District. The roadmap’s goal is to advance health and wellness for all persons in the District by providing actionable information whenever and wherever it is needed.

“The District’s has substantial health care resources, which we need to leverage as much as possible to ensure our health care system is connected,” said Wayne Turnage, DHCF Director. “Health IT is one of our strongest tools to connect residents to providers and care teams to each other to make sure DC residents receive the best care possible.”

The SMHP is a requirement of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The document is updated biannually by Medicaid agencies to review health IT infrastructure, evaluate stakeholder needs and define strategic goals.

The SMHP was developed through extensive engagement with residents, health care providers, District agencies and payers of health care services. This included close collaboration with the DC Health Information Exchange (HIE) Policy Board and District agency partners, including the DC Department of Health (DC Health) and the DC Department of Behavioral Health.

The roadmap outlines DHCF’s commitment to investing in the District’s health information exchange (HIE) infrastructure to support care and improve health outcomes. When used effectively, HIEs support providers’ ability to improve transitions of care; address social determinants of health; enable providers to better manage the health of their patients; and improve the public’s health.

The successful implementation of this strategic plan will rely on many partners inside and outside of government. “There is no question that the we must build infrastructure that serves the needs of all District residents. This foundation is essential to establishing sustainable HIE infrastructure across the District,” said Erin Holve, Director of the Health Care Reform and Innovation Administration at DHCF.  

Implementation of the roadmap is already underway. DHCF recently announced a new multi-year grant opportunity that will support the District’s efforts to transform the health system by making HIE tools more robust and useful as described in the SMHP.  

The District’s five-year State Medicaid Health IT Plan can be found here: https://dhcf.dc.gov/hitroadmap. 

For more information on the SMHP contact [email protected] or [email protected].