Aligning Health Information Technology and Delivery System Transformation Efforts: Themes from a Discussion among State and National Leaders

Countless efforts are underway to address the fragmentation and lack of coordination that negatively affect care and costs in the U.S. health care system. These efforts include health information technology (HIT) adoption and use, along with other activities to tackle delivery system transformation. Yet the efforts themselves are far too fragmented to achieve their maximum potential for transformation, especially with the urgency warranted by several new opportunities for real progress. In April 2012, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), in partnership with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), held the kick-off meeting for a new initiative: HIT Trailblazer States. The meeting brought together high-level leaders from states, the private sector, and the federal government to discuss alignment of HIT and health care transformation activities at the state, local and national levels. (See Appendix A for a list of meeting participants.) At the meeting, states shared their activities, OctOber 2012