State Report Outlines Challenges of E-Health Implementation

The first annual report of the State Alliance for E-Health, a panel created by the National Governor's Association, called on states and the federal government to work together to implement improvements in health information technology (HIT).

The variation of state provider licensure requirements was cited as one of the challenges of implementing a national HIT system for licensing. Recommendations offered by the report include:

• The adoption of a core licensure application in every state based on the Federation of State Medical Board's Common Licensure Application Form
• Promoting the use of online licensure applications
• Developing a national core set of credentialing parameters
• Directing each state professional board to select a central CVO for primary source verification
• Directing each state professional board to require state and federal criminal background checks for all applicants seeking a state license
• Standardization of the regulatory framework for each field of advanced practice nursing

The full report can be found here: http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0809EHEALTHREPORT.PDF