USVI Governor Signs Agreement for HIE Interoperability Pilot

The Governor of The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) has signed a “Letter of Intent” with CRISP Shared Services to participate in an interoperability pilot program that will lay the foundation for a health information exchange (HIE), according to reporting from The St. Thomas Source.

CRISP Shared Services is a non-profit support organization that provides health IT infrastructure and other core services to HIEs.

“This Letter of Intent helps us finally test our ability to connect the healthcare and services-related data collected by our government to ensure the proper identification and efficient delivery of services and enhance our care to Virgin Islands residents,” Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. told the news outlet.

“It will provide healthcare professionals, agencies, and community organizations with key information to help them make quicker decisions and provide better treatments, resulting in more timely care and more positive outcomes with less burden to the patients,” he added.

CRISP Shared Services will operate the program using funds from several federal health agencies.

“The US Virgin Islands are uniquely positioned to execute rapid modernization of their public health infrastructure,” said Craig Behm, CEO of CRISP Shared Services. “The engaged and thoughtful policymakers are already aligned with healthcare constituents, allowing for the development not only of basic interoperability through an HIE but also the full-scale development of a health data utility.”

The health data utility (HDU) will function through the local government for use by healthcare professionals for care coordination. Public health officials will also have access to the HDU to support community health goals.

“This pilot is a win for the USVI as it gives us a safe and funded space to make the first tangible, technical steps in building our HIE with a nationally recognized, pre-certified, innovative technology organization,” said Michelle M. Francis, director of the USVI Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT).

“We have already begun the behind-the-scenes work of building out a governance structure, and along with creating local policies and agreements that comply with federal privacy and security standards to support the secure electronic exchange of health information, brings it all into focus and sets it into high gear now,” she added.