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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ASTP/ONC) have named nine pilot sites that will begin testing the USCDI Behavioral Health dataset and data exchange through the FHIR Behavioral Health Profiles Implementation Guide in real-world health settings.
Sites in Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., will use awards ranging from $300,000 to $690,000 to implement provider-informed, community-driven projects that address interoperability, privacy, consent and other Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Record requirements.
WHY IT MATTERS
As part of SAMHSA's $20 million Behavioral Health Information Technology, 45 exchange partners across the nine pilot states will test data exchange with the behavioral health-specific data elements – USCDI+ BH – which were co-developed by the agency and ASTP/ONC.
The goal of the USCDI+ BH standards is to improve and reduce the costs of data capture, use and exchange for behavioral health providers. The projects will test integrations with health information exchanges, how data can support referrals for community‑based housing and vocational resources, and more.
ONC will provide technical assistance to BHIT grantee pilot participants, according to Wednesday's announcement. Findings from the pilots are to be completed by the end of 2026.
ASTP/ONC said that lessons learned from the pilots will serve to refine the USCDI+ BH dataset and standards and could also guide the development of the Behavioral Health Information Resource, which is slated for nationwide adoption in 2027.
Stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide additional feedback on the USCDI+ BH dataset, the office noted.
THE LARGER TREND
Two years ago, ASTP/ONC prioritized capturing behavioral health reporting data that fell outside the scope of USCDI and supported streamlined development and reporting of integrated BH data.
While USCDI v4 added alcohol, SUD assessments, treatment interventions, medication adherence data elements and more, ASTP/ONC identified opportunities for policy alignment around behavioral health reporting and integrated care across HHS agencies.
The office partnered with SAMHSA to modernize and prioritize BH reporting in the agency's strategic priorities, according to a presentation prepared for the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare 2024 Annual Meeting by Steve Posnack, the deputy national coordinator for ASTP/ONC.
Of note, ASTP/ONC awarded the Oregon Health & Science University funding under the Leading Edge Acceleration Projects in Health IT to tackle behavioral health interoperability challenges. The OHSU Behavioral Health eCarePlan Collaborative Project is expected to be completed this fall.
ON THE RECORD
"These pilots are a critical step toward breaking down the barriers currently impacting the interoperable exchange of behavioral health data across the care continuum," said Dr. Tom Keane, ASTP/ONC director.
Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
