CalMHSA Receives State Grants to Assist Counties With Interoperability
Key staff: Brandon Franklin, Director of Digital Transformation
CalMHSA has received a grant of $875,000 from the California Data Exchange Framework (DxF) to assist in implementing CalMHSA Connex, the state’s first and only county behavioral health-centric health information exchange. The 17 counties that applied under CalMHSA’s umbrella application for the funding are eligible for up to $50,000 each.
CalMHSA Connex is a turnkey interoperable solution, designed to meet DxF and other requirements. The deadline for counties to comply with the DxF requirements is January 2026. Because CalMHSA has already begun work toward implementation, CalMHSA Connex participants will be live and meet DxF requirements within 2024. Additionally, CalMHSA Connex counties will be able to connect to Qualified Health Information Networks, as well as participate in more local and community-based data exchange.
According to the state’s Center for Data Insights and Innovation, which oversees the DxF, the goal of the DxF is to be “a first-ever, statewide data sharing agreement between hospitals, physician organizations and medical groups, skilled nursing facilities, health plans and disability insurers, clinical laboratories, and acute psychiatric hospitals that will accelerate and expand the exchange of health and human services information beginning in 2024.”
The participation of county behavioral health in the DxF is a significant step in acknowledging the key role they play in contributing to the expanding interoperability landscape in California. For more information about CalMHSA Connex, please email [email protected].
March 26, 2024