Community Technology Cooperative (CTC) is a Massachusetts organization that formed to help Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) improve health and equity through technology. CTC is made up of FQHCs from across the state and is currently working to transition its member organizations to one instance of Epic EHR. CTC goes live on Epic later this year.
Support from the Mass HIway
The Mass HIway Account Management Team has been working closely with CTC to support planning and implementation of solutions to meet their HIE needs for their Epic instance. Early on in the project, an Account Manger met with CTC to understand their HIE needs and provide information on the HIway connection options available to them. CTC decided that connecting to the Mass HIway HISP best aligned with their needs and technology goals. Since this time, the Mass HIway Account Management team has facilitated CTC’s enrollment, testing, and on-boarding to the Mass HIway. The HIway team has also supported CTC by ensuring its compliance for all required DPH reporting within Epic through the Mass HIway HISP.
More on the Mass HIway HISP
CTC’s commitment to advancing technology led them to choose the Mass HIway as the HISP for their Epic instance. A HISP, or Health Information Services Provider, allows EHRs to send Direct messages and securely exchange health information with other healthcare entities. The Mass HIway HISP provides access to the Massachusetts Provider Directory, a listing of Massachusetts providers that include their Direct addresses as well as identifying information such as physical address, phone numbers and the name of the provider’s practice. Participants also have access to DirectTrust and 20+ other HISP’s data for Massachusetts providers. This enables users to search for the correct practitioner to receive Protected Health Information (PHI) via Health Information Exchange (HIE).
“Communicating through the Mass HIway promotes greater interoperability with non-Epic trading partners by allowing CTC to send and receive messages using the Direct standard. Through our partnership with the Mass HIway, we will be able to receive ADT notifications for non-Epic trading partners which will allow us to provide seamless transitions of care and notify care teams when their patients are seen elsewhere. “
- Karen Serrago, Chief Information Officer, Community Technology Cooperative
The Account Management Team is available to help all Massachusetts based providers and healthcare organizations establish effective HIE solutions to promote the electronic exchange of health information. Please reach out to the Mass HIway at, masshiway@state.ma.us, to get more information.