Michigan Health Connect (MHC): Health Systems Collaborate to Provide State-wide Information Exchange

Doug Dietzman, Executive Director of Michigan Health Connect (MHC), Patrick O’Hare, Senior VP and CIO, Spectrum Health, and Adam Theall, Senior Advisor, Impact Advisors present a case study for how healthcare organizations can work together to advance health information exchange (HIE) within and across their communities. Five Michigan health systems: Lakeland Health System, Metro Health, Northern Michigan Regional Health System, Spectrum Health and Trinity Health came together in 2009 to create MHC and accelerate collaborative efforts toward interoperability. Using a bottom-up, value-added approach to solution and services design, MHC has built upon its collaborative roots and created a privately funded, sustainable business and technology model for HIE in Michigan. The service area of the MHC health systems span 39 counties, covering over 2.2 million people and more than 3,500 providers in a wide range of care delivery environments.