To the IHIE Community,
Entering this new year, I look back and reflect on what 2020 meant for our organization and our customers. Although the year was unpredictable every step of the way, our community banded together more than ever as we focused on the issues that mattered most—creating a sense of comfort and safety for all in our organizations and responding to the pandemic. Being able to leverage and build on our relationships with public and private collaborators to help our customers and the citizens of Indiana respond quickly and effectively to the pandemic is one of the things I am most proud of. It’s times like these that validate the decades of investment in HIE, and I am grateful our organization was able to fulfill its mission and responsibility.
Last year, even before the pandemic, we were deeply engaged in consolidating IHIE with the long-standing Michiana Health Information Network (MHIN), gaining larger state-wide participation, and providing data and technology to several COVID-related projects with the State. If anyone had asked me in March 2020 if Team IHIE could take on a massive amount of pandemic response work, keep MHIN and IHIE services going, continue consolidating two organizations, and do it all from home, I admit… I would have said “I don’t know.” But that’s exactly what we did. Getting through this and knowing what we can accomplish together leaves me encouraged as we continue this journey into 2021 and beyond.
To our customers, partners and supporters, we are more dedicated than ever to provide the support and data you need, where and when you need it. Our goals for this year include advancing IHIE as part of the public health infrastructure, influencing and responding to federal policies that may affect the Health IT industry, and providing new innovative solutions that help you make informed decisions—at the point of care and for entire populations.
Finally, I want to extend a special thank you to those frontline healthcare workers that served and continue to work tirelessly to get all of us through these times. Your dedication and hard work are and always have been heroic.
Thank you, IHIE community, for the part you have played, and continue to play, in the pandemic response. We recognize that what you do—as our customers, partners, and collaborators—is the most valuable part of our business. We look forward to growing and continuing to serve as a resource to you and our community.
Sincerely,
John P. Kansky
President and CEO, Indiana Health Information Exchange