Tech modernization

Our vision for a modernized health technology infrastructure would connect 2.9 million Washingtonians to more than 75 health and human services and allow more equitable access to these programs and services.

Connecting people to needed services

Rapidly evolving technology has outpaced current capabilities to provide physical and behavioral health care and social services to Washingtonians. But with the right technology in place, individuals should no longer need to spend hours navigating multiple complicated systems. The goals are to provide the most complete care possible, connect people to services, and ensure they maintain access to those services.

Better access to more people

Tech updates would provide better access to more people through:

• Faster access to care and resources in times of crisis
• Data to address inequities and improve health outcomes
• Better service in communities with historic barriers to care
• Mobile access and language translations
• Easier-to-use systems, helping people connect to and keep services
• Accurate, secure information available instantly
• Coordinated care across providers, programs, services, and communities
• Increased efficiency and less redundancy

Tech framework

• Integrated eligibility and enrollment (IEE) streamlines a person’s application and enrollment to help them navigate health and human services for which they may be eligible.
• Master person index (MPI) creates a unique identifier for every person, improving consistency and coordination of care across systems and programs.
• Community information exchange (CIE) captures and manages personal data across social service organizations so providers have a more complete picture of a person’s individual health care needs.
• Electronic health records (EHR) ensures a person’s medical history and current medications are easily accessible to authorized providers.
• Electronic Consent Management (ECM) facilitates the exchange of a person’s health data between authorized providers by capturing and storing consent to share sensitive information.
• 988 crisis line sends mobile response teams to people in crisis, particularly those in historically underserved populations, and identifies where they can receive care in their region.
• Integration/interoperability layer serves as the glue that binds the systems together, seamlessly exchanging data so that systems function as a single entity.
• Automated data acquisition and management improves data collection, checking data quality as it is being submitted, to ensure it is more complete.
• Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standardizes data transmission between systems and improves consistency.

Together, the improved health care technologies will increase transparency, improve communication, and support collaboration — making it easier to connect Washingtonians to health care, benefits, and other social services for which they are eligible.