Lt. Gov. Sheehy Announces Nebraska Recognized as Leader in Health Information Technology

(Lincoln, Neb.) Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy today ( Oct. 19) announced The Nebraska Information Technology Commission and two Nebraska health information exchange initiatives have been recognized as national leaders for their efforts to enhance the safety and quality of health care by embracing the use of health information technology. These initiatives are The Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NeHII) and Electronic Behavioral Health Information Network (eBHIN),
“We’re proud of the work being done to improve patient care and are thrilled the effort is receiving national recognition,” said Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy. “Current technologies make it easy and safe for doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others to access more complete patient information at the point of care. It results in fewer errors and means health care providers and their staff can spend more time actually talking with their patients.” Lt. Gov. Sheehy serves as the Chair of the Information Technology Commission.
NeHII is a web-based health information exchange sponsored by Nebraska physicians, hospitals and clinics, and health insurance companies. It provides a system to electronically display personal health and medical information securely between doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers when it is needed for patient care. Twenty-one hospitals in Nebraska and Iowa are participating in NeHII. Participating health systems and hospitals include Alegent Health, Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Methodist Health System, The Nebraska Medical Center, Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital (Hastings), Creighton University Medical Center, Great Plains Regional Medical Center (North Platte), Regional West Medical Center (Scottsbluff), Columbus Community Hospital, and Sidney Regional Medical Center.
eBHIN is one of the country’s first health information exchanges focused on the exchange of behavioral health information. eBHIN is providing health information exchange services to providers in Southeast Nebraska and will be expanding the health information exchange functionality to the Panhandle and Omaha areas. Planning efforts are underway with providers in other areas of the state.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is recognizing the achievements of 14 of 56 U.S. states and territories for their use of query-model health information exchange. With over 2,000 users and 2.2 million individuals with patient information in the system, NeHII is one of the country’s largest health information exchanges. Additionally, eBHIN is pioneering the use of health information exchange to facilitate care coordination for behavioral health clients in Nebraska.