Nebraska Health Information Initiative

The initiative began early in 2005 when several individuals representing health organizations gathered to discuss the need to create a statewide health information exchange (HIE) for the betterment of patient care in the state.  The exchange would enable physicians statewide to view consolidated patient medical history at the point of care, improving safety and care delivery while reducing duplicate or redundant procedures.  Initially, progress was slow.  In an effort to accelerate the development of a health information exchange, the initial group contacted individuals from the entire state who represented health organizations.  These individuals had a Decision Accelerator meeting, a strategic planning session that jumpstarted the endeavor to where we are now.

Since the Decision Accelerator meeting, the progress of the Nebraska Health Information Initiative ( NeHII) has outpaced all similar activities.  NeHII began soliciting, evaluating, and negotiating with leading health information companies. A Request for Information (RFI) was initiated.  From the list of responders, a subsequent Request for Proposal (RFP) was extended to seven selected vendors.      

These activities were conducted in a way to ensure that vendors met the unique requirements of the initiative. The winning vendor had to demonstrate its technology’s ability to integrate with third-party Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), as well as its ability to provide EMR functionality for physicians without this technology.  A significant goal in evaluating prospective partners was to identify one that would become a partner in this initiative.  This process led to the selection of an HIE partner, Axolotl, Inc. 

On March 28th, the interim board of directors of NeHII took a major step in corporate governance, approving the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and forming NeHII, Inc.  This major step included the election of the corporation’s first permanent Board of Directors, who will lead the efforts of the collaborative toward its primary goal of improving the level of health care by implementing one of the first statewide HIE of its kind.  The next step in the process is the application for 501(c)(3) status, granting the Nebraska corporation tax exempt status.