HIway Atttestation Overview
Provider Organizations that are required to meet the HIway Connection Requirement were required to submit an online Attestation Form each year to attest to their efforts to implement Health Information Exchange use cases.
During the Health Information Technology (HIT) Council meeting on August 1, 2022, it was announced that the timetable for the HIway Connection Requirement has been met for the currently regulated organizations, (Acute Care Hospitals, Community Health Centers, and Medical Ambulatory Practices). As of July 31st, 2022, the Mass HIway will no longer require regulated providers to submit an annual attestation. It is expected that the use of Direct messaging will continue to persist for the foreseeable future as many providers rely upon it every day to coordinate patient care. The HIway will continue to monitor and report on the utilization of Direct messaging, and other provider organization types may be subject to the HIway Connection Requirement in the future with proper notice.
| Provider Organization | First Year of Requirement | Submit by October 31, 2021 |
| Acute Care Hospitals | 2017 | Year 5 Attestation Form |
| Large and Medium Medical Ambulatory Practices | 2018 | Year 4 Attestation Form |
| Large Community Health Centers | ||
| Small Community Health Centers | 2019 | Year 3 Attestation Form |
Online Attestation Requirements
The annual Attestation Forms collect two key areas of information:
1. How the organization met its HIway Connection Requirement. Attestation questions include:
o Description of the provider-to-provider use case
o Approximate # of HIway Direct Messages per month for the use case
o Name and version of the EHR
o Whether the EHR is an ONC Certified Health IT Product
o How the organization connected to the HIway
Options: (1) EHR directly to HIway, (2) EHR via a HISP, (3) via Mass HIway webmail, (4) via a DirectTrust-accredited HISP
Suggested Attestation Steps
The online attestation must be completed by October 31, 2021. The Online Attestation Forms are available as of August 2, 2021. You can prepare for attestation by using the PDF version of the forms.
Once the forms become available, the suggested completion steps, as shown in the image below are:
1. To access the page with the PDF attestation forms, click here.
2. Download the PDF version to prepare the answers.
3. When you are ready to submit online, click here.
4. Fill in the Online Attestation Forms and submit to the Mass HIway.
If you don't meet the HIway Connection Requirement
If your organization did not meet its 2020 HIway Connection Requirement, an authorized representative of the organization is required to complete an Online Exception Form. To access the PDF and Online versions of the Exception Form, click here. Use the PDF version of the Exception Form to plan and prepare your responses.
After we receive the online form, the Mass HIway may contact your organization to discuss your organization’s plans to comply with the HIway connection requirement in the future.
If an organization did not meet its Year 3 HIway connection requirement in 2021, it is still expected to meet the Year 4 requirement in 2022 and submit a Year 4 HIway Attestation Form by Summer 2022. If an organization did not meet its Year 4 requirement in 2021, the organization is expected to meet its Year 4 requirement in 2022 and submit a Year 5 attestation form by Summer 2022.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Mass HIway Regulations FAQs provide questions & answers related to the Mass HIway Regulations, and the attestation process. To access the FAQs, click here.
Webinar
Review the webinar below to learn more about the Mass HIway Connection Requirement and Attestation Process.