Health information exchanges have been growing in the state, helping to transform regional databases to ones linked up with the statewide exchange under the Department of Health.
But a larger network was formed recently between seven state medical societies, including New Jersey’s.
The Health Equity Network for Change was announced this month, and will use analytics tools provided by KAMMCO to build a physician-led exchange that also includes Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and South Carolina.
Dr. Soumen Samaddar, medical director of Hunterdon Family & Sports Medicine at Hopewell Valley in Pennington, is representing the Medical Society of New Jersey in the coalition.
Larry Downs, CEO of MSNJ, said New Jersey is eager to be a part of a larger group.
“The Medical Society of New Jersey and the state’s physician-led health information exchange, OneHealth New Jersey, are excited to participate in this new initiative,” he said. “By working together to address universal health care issues such as health care disparities and population health, we can broaden our impact across the country.”
HENC Chair Natalie Achong said the coalition will help physicians share best practices across state lines.
“Physicians across the nation are increasingly concerned about health disparities,” she said. “To address this, HENC brings leading physicians together to examine trends in health disparity data.
“This will allow HENC to make data-driven recommendations for the establishment of population health priorities at regional, state and national levels aimed at improving health outcomes.”
