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For immediate release: August 27, 2008 Contact: Shawn Karrick
NASCIO Brief Encourages State CIO Involvement in Medicaid IT Transformation
(Lexington, KY) - The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) is pleased to announce the release of its new issue brief "The MITA Touch: State CIOs and Medicaid IT Transformation." The brief, a product of NASCIO's Health IT Working Group, may be found online at www.nascio.org/publications.
Medicaid transformation, and incorporating information technology into these efforts, is among the fastest-growing trends in healthcare today. With the introduction of the federal Medicaid IT Architecture (MITA) initiative, states are beginning to assess their current Medicaid systems and explore how the MITA initiative can foster information exchange and improve healthcare quality outcomes. This brief examines the ways in which state CIOs can play a role in the MITA effort, and how their enterprise view contributes to the holistic vision that MITA promotes across state agencies and all levels of government.
"State CIO involvement in the development and implementation of MITA is crucial," said Tennessee CIO Mark Bengel, Chair of NASCIO's Health IT Working Group. "MITA requires collaboration across all levels of government which the State CIO is uniquely positioned to facilitate. CIO's also bring a strong combination of business and technology process knowledge that will be critical to the success of the MITA effort."
The MITA initiative seeks to advance information exchange across state agencies and the federal government, and provides a framework for states to follow, while maintaining a structure based on their individual needs. This brief outlines MITA's goals and highlights the opportunities it offers, as well as examines its challenges, and offers ways for state CIOs to become involved in their states' MITA efforts at the outset.
NASCIO is the premier network and resource for state CIOs and an effective advocate for technology policies at all levels of government. State members are senior officials from any of the three branches of state government who have executive-level and statewide responsibility for information resource management. Representatives from federal, municipal, and international governments and other state officials participate in the organization as associate members. Private-sector firms and non-profit organizations may join as corporate members.
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For information regarding this brief or NASCIO's Health IT Working Group, please contact Stephanie Jamison, NASCIO Issues Coordinator, at (859) 514-9148 or sjamison@amrms.com; or contact Shawn Karrick, NASCIO Membership and Communications Coordinator, at (859) 514-9156 or skarrick@amrms.com.
AMR Management Services provides NASCIO's executive staff. For more information about AMR visit www.AMRms.com.
