Since its inception in 2001, the eHealth Initiative has been a resource to health information initiatives around the country. The first Health Information Exchange (HIE) Toolkit, in 2006, captured the lessons learned from 12 community-based health information exchanges around the country. In 2008, the updated Toolkit incorporated best practices from the 42 sustainable health information exchanges. The 2008 version also incorporated the eHealth Initiative Blueprint: From Consensus to Common Action, a set of principles, strategies and actions for improving health and health care through health information technology and HIE.

In 2011, the landscape for HIE is significantly different from that in 2008. One hundred and ninety-nine HIEs completed the 2010 eHealth Initiative survey on the state of health information exchange. The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the implementation of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act provisions within ARRA are accelerating the development of health information exchange throughout the country. State and local stakeholders are seeking information on new and emerging requirements for HIEs and lessons learned from others in the field.

The 2011 eHealth Initiative Toolkit is designed to provide useful information to assist leaders in the areas that are crucial to the successful implementation and maintenance of HIE.

How Was the Toolkit Developed?

Content for the Toolkit was developed through a collaborative process with the Connecting Communities Steering Committee, as well as interviews with leaders in the HIE field. Many of the principles and strategies were derived from the 2010 National Progress Report, a review of progress and areas requiring action in health IT and HIE since the 2007 eHI Blueprint. Health information organizations across the country were consulted about the topics covered in this toolkit, and they shared insights to help their fellow communities.  eHI would like to thank the following individuals for their invaluable assistance:

• Gina Bianco Perez, MPA, President of Advances in Management Inc, contributed to the governance, sustainability, and connecting technically module. 
• Mary Kasal, Executive Director of Franciscan Health System HIE, contributed to the governance module.
• Kristen Rosati, Coppersmith Schermer and Brockelman PLC, contributed to the privacy module.
• Allen Briskin, Counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, contributed to the privacy module.  
• Dale Emerson, President, of Hielix, contributed to the sustainability module.
• Camilla Hull-Brown, Principal and Founder of Strategies for Tomorrow, contributed to the sustainability and connecting technically module.
• Glenn Keet, President of Axolotl, contributed to the moving forward module.
• Jill Eisenstein, Associate Director of Rochester RHIO, contributed to the moving forward module.
• Jay McCutcheon, HIE Coordinator at the SIU School of Medicine, contributed to the sustainability module.

The Toolkit is an evolving resource that will be modified by the input of national, state, and local leaders who contribute their expertise and experiences. If you have information about how we might improve the Toolkit please let us know by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Development of the eHI online toolkit was made possible through the generosity and support of Axolotl.