9 pilot packages throughout the nation are being set as much as strengthen behavioral and bodily well being integration via improved knowledge alternate as a part of the federal Behavioral Well being Data Expertise (BHIT) Initiative. They are going to take a look at behavioral health-specific knowledge components in real-world settings.
The pilots, to be accomplished by the tip of 2026, characterize 45 alternate companions throughout Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C. They are going to inform future requirements, technical specs, and coverage concerns for the broader well being supplier neighborhood and form future sources for the behavioral well being neighborhood.
As an illustration, in Oregon the MyCarePlanner BH Interoperability challenge consists of 4 companions led by OHSU. It expands a affected person‑pushed workflow that permits people to consent to and share USCDI+BH knowledge utilizing the MyCarePlanner FHIR app. The aim is to enhance care plan accuracy and continuity throughout behavioral well being and first care settings.
The BHX Join challenge in Colorado will create a workflow for seven behavioral well being suppliers to alternate a focused set of USCDI+BH knowledge components via a centralized HIE hub. This work goals to enhance transitions of care for people exiting institutional settings.
The behavioral well being IT requirements and the testing pilot packages had been developed by the Workplace of the Assistant Secretary for Expertise Coverage/Workplace of the Nationwide Coordinator for Well being IT (ASTP/ONC).
The pilots will start testing the USCDI+ Behavioral Well being (USCDI+ BH) dataset and the FHIR Behavioral Well being Profiles Implementation Information (BH IG) in numerous real-world behavioral well being settings. USCDI+ BH was developed by ASTP/ONC and the Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Companies Administration’s (SAMHSA) and knowledgeable by a public remark interval, to enhance the effectiveness and cut back the prices of knowledge seize, use, and alternate for behavioral well being suppliers.
ASTP/ONC stated the pilots will implement provider-informed, community-driven tasks that tackle interoperability, privateness, consent, and 42 C.F.R. Half 2 necessities. Classes realized will inform refinements to the USCDI+ BH dataset and requirements. Data gathered from the pilots can even information the event of the Behavioral Well being Data Useful resource, slated for launch in 2027, to assist scalable, sustainable nationwide adoption.
“These pilots are a essential step towards breaking down the limitations at present impacting the interoperable alternate of behavioral well being knowledge throughout the care continuum,” stated Tom Keane, M.D., Assistant Secretary for Expertise Coverage and Nationwide Coordinator for Well being IT, in an announcement. “We’re desperate to see how these pilots progress and equally desperate to digest the findings that can assist us assist improved continuity of care and enhance well being outcomes.”
