September 2022

In October 2020, GaHIN was one of five HIEs awarded a $500,000 grant by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The grant was intended to further support public health organizations, including the Georgia Departments of Public Health (DPH) and Community Health (DCH), in accessing, sharing and using electronic health information, especially data from populations underserved and/or disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two years later, GaHIN is wrapping up the project and measuring success. Most notably, GaHIN has submitted more than one million patient encounters and lab results that meet the DPH and DCH criteria for COVID-19 reporting.

HI-BRIDGE HIE has been a strong partner for the grant, connecting 14 correctional facilities and two large pediatric practices. HI-BRIDGE is in the process of adding 61 correctional facilities through a new connection with the Georgia Department of Corrections. 

As a result of the grant, GaHIN now has the processes, technology and agreements in place to support public health reporting during a crisis. And GaHIN will continue to analyze data to identify trends around race/ethnicity, correctional facilities and veterans.

The map below on the left shows COVID-19 reporting by Zip Code. The areas that are gray did not have any reporting; much of that is due to a lack of hospitals in those areas, as you can see on the map on the right. The blue areas indicate rural counties without a hospital or FQHC. 

2022 COVID-19 Reporting by Zip Code

GaHIN Expanding Functionality Into SDOH 

GaHIN is working with two different projects which are seeking to bridge the gap between healthcare providers and community-based organizations (CBOs) by addressing SDOH factors.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines social determinants of health (SDOH) as, "the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

"SDOH also contribute to wide health disparities and inequities. For example, people who don't have access to grocery stores with healthy foods are less likely to have good nutrition. That raises their risk of health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity — and even lowers life expectancy relative to people who do have access to healthy foods."

GaHIN is examining ways to leverage its technology and connections to improve coordination of care and deployment of social and community-based services. We'll keep you informed as these project progress.