by Mitchell Thornbrugh, Chief Information Officer, Indian Health Service Office of Information Technology
In 2023, we have made significant progress in the Health Information Technology Modernization Program. Throughout the year, our dedicated IHS team and partners have worked diligently to prepare for the acquisition of a new enterprise Electronic Health Record solution. IHS recently announced General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. (GDIT) will build, configure, and maintain a new IHS enterprise EHR solution.
I want to take this opportunity to reflect on the Modernization Program’s milestones and partner engagement efforts in 2023:
January – February
Engaged with health IT system users from IHS, tribal, and urban Indian organization sites to provide input as advisors in 40 vendor product demonstrations.
March – April
Held a tribal consultation and urban confer on “Preparing for Change” for implementation of the new enterprise EHR solution and program updates.
Awarded the Organizational Change Management contract to a Native American-owned corporation and the Project Management Office contract to an Alaskan Native corporation.
May
Held a tribal consultation and urban confer focused on “Modernization Resources" for funding, technical business models, and shares.
June
Introduced the non-binding Statement of Interest, which provides an opportunity for tribes and urban Indian organizations to formally express interest in participating in the implementation of the enterprise EHR solution. Interested partners can email their SOI documents to modernization@ihs.gov.
August
Held a tribal consultation and urban confer focused on “Leaders Engaging in Governance" to emphasize the importance the IHS places on building the new EHR with our partners, not for them. The event provided insight into the several opportunities for collaboration as the “Buy and Build” phase of the program continues.
Announced the launch of initial focus groups on interoperability, implementation, and data analytics.
Held the Tribal Summit alongside the Partnership Conference, which provided an opportunity for tribal and urban Indian organization partners to caucus. Read more about the Partnership Conference and Tribal Summit in the September blog post.
September
Began proactively establishing a collaborative governance structure to guide the development of an enterprise EHR solution, including roles for the Executive Steering Committee and the Enterprise Collaboration Group.
October
Completed the Four Directions Warehouse prototype, which is an independent legacy data storage solution.
Developed overall Deployment Strategy Executive Summary.
November
Announced that GDIT will build, configure, and maintain the new enterprise EHR solution across Indian Country using Oracle Health technology.
Consolidated the Integrated Management Schedule.
Held a tribal consultation and urban confer focused on “The Path Forward” for the Health IT Modernization Program.
December
Held initial kick off meeting introducing IHS OIT leadership to GDIT and Oracle staff.
Hosted the 2023 Virtual Summit for tribal and urban Indian partners, which provided an opportunity to enhance awareness of the new enterprise EHR solution. The tribal caucus allowed time for tribal and urban attendees to independently discuss questions and issues to present to IHS leadership.
Together, we’ve achieved great progress in 2023. The team’s commitment to our shared goals and efforts has been instrumental in driving the Health IT Modernization Program. I look forward to continued excellence in the coming year.
Read more about ways you can partner with the Health IT Modernization Program and make sure to follow the IHS on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).
Mitchell Thornbrugh, an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is the chief information officer for the Indian Health Service. His responsibilities include advising senior IHS leadership on all aspects of information resource management and technology and ensures IHS compliance with information technology laws, regulations, and policies.
