As 2007 ends and we enter a new year, it seems only fitting that my column include a numbered list and some good news for 2008.


At the 4th NHIN Forum held in Long Beach, Calif., in mid-December, Michael Matthews, CEO of MedVirginia  and Tom Check, vice president and CIO of the New York eHealth Collaborative, highlighted the progress made by their respective organizations.


MedVirginia is a multi-stakeholder entity based in Richmond that provides a community-wide clinical data and information exchange platform for healthcare providers. It supports the Rural Virginia e-health Collaborative, which received a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to enable e-prescribing, e-referrals and e-results.


Matthews presented his Top 10 lessons for building health information exchanges – something organizations can strive for in 2008:


10. Have a sustainable business model.


9. Ensure you have a manageable organizational trade-off to be exclusive.


8. Choose your technology partner wisely.


7. Think big, start small, scale rapidly.


6. Be flexible, adaptable and opportunistic.


5. The power of a product or a live site will drive up motivation (Get something that works and sells to stakeholders).


4. Security matters.


3. Balance impatience with patience.


2. Keep your friends close and doctors closer (to increase physician engagement and adoption).


1. Just do it.


The New York eHealth Collaborative was recently awarded a one-year $2.8 million contract by the Department of Health and Human Services to participate in the Nationwide Health Information Network Trial Implementation project.


The Collaborative will work with the New York Clinical Information Exchange, or NYCLIX, and the Long Island Patient Information Exchange, or LIPIX, to enable health information exchange between its providers, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York and North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.


Check noted that multiple actionable building blocks are necessary for HIE success – something organizations can focus on in 2008:


• Promote multi-stakeholder collaboration at the state and regional levels


• Support the development of regional HIEs and regional health information organizations


• Link to the national strategy and standards


• Provide financial incentives to expand reach to safety-net providers


• Privacy and security are essential to public trust


• Support the strategic uses of health IT to improve public health, quality and safety, strengthen evidence-based practices and increase the use of preventive services


• Look for sustainability beyond initial funding through grants, member contributions and in-kind services