- By John Fraser
The Social Security Administration (SSA) just funded 15 NHIN projects to dramatically speed up delivery of SSA benefits to injured workers. This is an exciting new project for the Nationwide Health Information Network and the 15 contracted entities. MEDNET is proud to be one of the project participants.
How will this SSA project work and what is the impact? Providers will use a local health information exchange to connect through the NHIN to the SSA. SSA spends over $500 million a year to enroll injured workers into SSA disability programs, a paper-intensive process that can delay an injured workers benefits for months. Using the NHIN standards for electronic data exchange, SSA expects to reduce the injured workers wait for benefits from months to weeks, and potentially days. This means a disabled person unable to work can receive financial support quickly. In Minnesota there are over 100,000 injured workers relying on SSA disability benefits to help feed their families.
Compatibility with other health information exchanges is another benefit of adopting NHIN. SSA is one of the first agencieCompatibility with other health information exchanges is another benefit of adopting NHIN. SSA is one of the first agencies to fund a number of NHIN connections, and other federal agencies including CDC, the VA and DoD are also implementing NHIN projects. This means NHIN connectivity can now be seen as a key connectivity standard for federal business, now and in the future. From SSA disability, to public health reporting, to eligibility determinations for Medicaid, many federal agencies have decided to transition their business processes to NHIN.
As health information exchanges (HIE) are built, and HIEs utilize the NHIN standards, they will reduce the risk of becoming obsolete or isolated, and increase the opportunities for federal connectivity and interoperability. NHIN helps to “future-proof” health information exchanges that adopt the underlying technologies of the NHIN.
Be sure to hear John Fraser speak at Session 246 on Thursday, March 4th on Identity Management in a Federated NHIN at the HIMSS Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.