Health Information Exchange Development in Michigan
Altarum Institute provides technical support to both the Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN) and the state of Michigan’s Data Hub. Altarum helped set up and configure the technical infrastructure at MiHIN, creating test HL7 messages, gathering requirements for different program areas, conducting surveys and technical research, along with various other business analysis tasks.
Altarum also helped set up and configure the MDCH Data Hub environment including the Rhapsody interface engine, developing messaging routes, and performing testing and validation activities. Currently the team is supporting Meaningful Use interfacing and piloting necessary to streamline provider reporting to state cancer, chronic disease, and birth defects registries.
Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR)
Initially developed as the Michigan Childhood Immunization Registry, the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR) was designed, developed, and deployed by Altarum to track immunization status and delivery across Michigan.
It was the first statewide immunization registry that integrated data from both public and private health care providers. MCIR now tracks adult vaccinations and records children’s blood-lead levels.
Altarum supports the maintenance of the Web-based registry and is currently developing a stand-alone immunization forecasting Web service to improve the agility of clinical decision support to providers.
Expanding Health Care Data Access and Use for Health Services Research
Altarum Institute recently supported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) efforts to expand health care data access and use for health service research.
This effort demonstrated how CDC programs can use novel and rapidly evolving data sources (such as state data warehouses and health information exchanges) to assess the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation.
Altarum staff members provided technical expertise in epidemiological activities, secondary electronic health records/health information exchange (EHR/HIE) data use, and state government information systems to support the specification of CDC program needs and evaluation of data from existing surveillance systems along with the potential of new data sources.
Michigan Disease Surveillance System
Altarum Institute supported development of a state-wide communicable disease surveillance system that complies with the Public Health Information Network requirements issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Initially, Altarum provided program management and technical support services on the Michigan Disease Surveillance System (MDSS), but since 2006, we have assumed all enhancement and maintenance support to the system.
MDSS allows local health departments and health care organizations to report disease cases through a Web interface and enables access to case-count reports and geo-mapping tools to support assessment of potential epidemics and patterns of disease incidence.
Michigan Syndromic Surveillance System
Altarum Institute developed, implemented, enhances, and maintains a tailored version of the Real-time Outbreak Detection System (RODS) to provide surveillance of emergency department patient presentations throughout Michigan.
Based on HL7 standard transactions and receiving real-time emergency department chief complaint data from over 30 providers, the system analyzes data from over 1.8 million emergency room visits annually.
The system gives Michigan public health officials early detection alerts and enables Michigan Department of Community Health epidemiologists to take appropriate intervention actions quickly.