MINNEAPOLIS, March 4, 2008—The Minnesota Department of Health has reported to the legislature on the state of the Minnesota e-Health Initiative. The message is that health technology mandates enacted by the 2007 Legislature are making good progress.

"Significant progress has been made on implementing the health information technology mandates enacted during the 2007 Legislative Session. These advances are the result of broad public-private sector engagement through the Minnesota e-Health Initiative."

Requirements of the 2007 act include:

• All health care providers must an interoperable electronic health record system by 2015.
• A statewide plan must be developed to meet the 2015 mandate.
• Uniform health data standards must be adopted by 2009.
• A standardized consent form must be developed for disclosing health records.
• Privacy protections need to be reviewed and improved. 
• Public and private information systems must be able to efficiently and easily exchange data.

The MDH was able to report significant progress in all these areas. In addition it asked for continuing support from the Legislature to address these problems:

• Continuing to support and integrate requirements for the effective use of health information technology into health care transformation and reform.
• Supporting key elements of the health information technology implementation plan, such as a broad and inclusive definition of providers and electronic health record technologies, so that the mandate has far reaching impact on improving the quality, continuity and safety of health care.
• Emphasizing strong privacy protections as the health care industry moves into electronic exchange of information.