HealthInfoNet is dedicated to helping our communities create lasting system wide improvements in the value of patient care.
Learn more about how your organization may be able to become a participant of Maine’s statewide Health Information Exchange.
Become A Participant
New participant onboarding is made simple through a streamlined and straightforward process. We make it easy for you to connect to the HIE so that you can get access to our services as quickly as possible. That way, you can get back to what matters most: improving the quality, safety, and coordination of patient care delivery.
Onboarding Process
Receive an understanding of the phases, milestones, and resources involved in establishing connectivity with statewide HIE.
Participation Questions
Check out our list of FAQs to learn what other organizations have asked us in the past about what it entails to become a HIE participant.
Participant inquiry form
Get started with next steps in becoming a HIE participant by completing and submitting our brief participant inquiry questionnaire.
An Overview of Our onboarding Process
Eligibility & Contracting
Interested organizations must complete our HIE Participant Inquiry Form and meet with our Client Engagement team to determine eligibility requirements and scope of services; if eligible and approved, organizations subsequently must review and execute our standard Participant Agreement.
Related milestones include:
- Receive, review, and confirm HIE participation eligibility requirements with interested organizations via HIE Participant Inquiry form and virtual touchpoint conversations
- Discuss levels of service (e.g., scope of services, effective date for implementation and invoicing, etc.) with interested organizations to inform contract terms and conditions of participation
- Provide standard Participant Agreement to interested organizations, including Business Associates Agreement and Fee Schedule
- Execute Participation Agreement across all parties
Project Kickoff & Scoping
With contracting complete, interested organizations – now officially HIE participants – will meet with our Project Team to establish project roles and responsibilities among all parties, as well as to clarify and expand technical specifications to inform detailed project requirements and related implementation timelines.
Related milestones include:
- Establish roles and responsibilities between our dedicated Project Team and new participants' internal resources, including business and technical leads and/or vendor partners
- Assess new participants' technical requirements, including system connection capacities (e.g., VPN/2FA connectivity) and data-sharing capabilities (e.g., EHR integration opportunities, data specifications)
- Review privacy and compliance regulations, including HIE references in State of Maine statutes as well as authorized end-user roles (e.g., clinician, help desk, and auditor roles)
Technical Implementation
Next, HealthInfoNet will plan for and technically establish secure system connectivity and EHR interface(s) connections and other relevant access points with new participants to enable HIE data-sharing and viewing capabilities.
Related milestones include:
- Coordinate technical project kickoff calls, and ongoing project meetings, among project teams
- Coordinate secure connection with new participants' technical systems
- Establish connectivity with new participants' EHR interface(s) to receive available data sets; QA connected interface(s) to ensure data transmission/receipt accuracy and validity
- Receive go-live acceptance from new participants following sign-off of standard QA activities
- Configure new participants' authorized end-user accounts within applicable HIE systems
Training & Education
With systems connected and data flowing, new participants are then ready to engage in required training and education activities led by our Clinical Education team, including patient consent management education and HIE system feature/functionality/workflow training opportunities.
Related milestones include:
- Provide patient consent education to new participants' compliance leads and other necessary privacy and compliance staff members
- Establish and confirm consent workflows have been established within new participants' clinical routines prior to technical implementation go-live acceptance
- Engage authorized end users to confirm user account creation process and access to the HIE’s systems; provide additional education and training, as needed
Ongoing Support
After initial participant onboarding activities have been completed, that doesn’t mean that our job is done. We continue to provide ongoing assistance, support, and services to our participants over the course of their HIE participation, including routine touchpoints, opportunities to provide service feedback, and much more.
Related milestones include:
- Provide participants and their authorized end users with clear guidance on how best to reach out to and engage our team for various purposes and needs, using our Project Management, Customer Support, and Clinical Education resources as necessary to meet various use cases
- Establish a routine outreach cadence to participants and their authorized end users to identify training/education needs, technical assistance, new opportunities, etc.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PARTICIPATING IN MAINE'S HIE
We’re sure you have some questions about participating in the State of Maine’s statewide Health Information Exchange (HIE). So we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions from organizations like yours over the years. If you can’t find an answer to your question, reach out to our team. We’re here to help.
HIE Participant Inquiry Form
Complete and submit information about your organization to help us determine its eligibility to become a HIE participant. If you have any questions prior to completing the Participant Inquiry Form, reach out to our team.