Is Your EHR Compatible with Oklahoma's Health Information Exchange ?
Since early March 2023, mental health providers from across the state have been reeling as they were caught off guard by the upcoming implementation of the Oklahoma Health Information Exchange.
Senate Bill 1369, passed and signed by Governor Kevin Stitt in May 2022 dictated that “Beginning July 1, 2023, all health care providers as defined by the rules promulgated by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority Board and who are licensed by and located in this state shall report data to and utilize the state-designated entity [The Health Information Exchange]. The Office of the State Coordinator for Health Information Exchange may, as provided by rules promulgated by the Board, allow exemptions from the requirement provided by this subsection on the basis of financial hardship, size, or technological capability of a health care provider.”
This writer contacted MyHealth, who holds the contract for the Oklahoma Health Information Exchange, to inquire about technical compatibility with his EMR and MyHealth. Ashley Ellis, Manger of Client Services with MyHealth gave the following response
“MyHealth is currently connected to over 90 different EMR instances. We do our best to be flexible and meet the EHR where they are. Any EHR that meets the 2015 Cures Update for CEHRT should be able to connect. A list of these can be found on the Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL) website.”
This writer then went to the link provided, utilized the filter to search for EHRs which meet the “2015 Cures Update for CEHRT” and searched for his EMR provider. His provider, Therapy Notes, was not listed among the platforms that are currently capactible with MyHealth. He then contacted Therapy Notes technical support directly and confirmed that Therapy Notes is not compatible with MyHealth.
Based upon this lack of compatibility, it is this writer’s belief that his practice would be eligible for an exemption from the Health Information Exchange.
While the participation of mental health providers in the Oklahoma HIE continues to be investigated and challenged, this writer encourages all independent mental health practitioners to search the above link and to contact their EHR provider directly to determine if their EHR provider is compatible with the Oklahoma Health Information Exchange. If not, you may be eligible for an exemption.