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Health Information Technology in Ohio

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has been heavily involved in Health Information Technology (HIT) efforts in the state. HIT is a nation-wide effort to promote the use of technology to improve medical care, reduce costs and provide a more patient-centric focus to better health for all Americans. Its goal is to unite health providers, payers, and patients in a common way to ensure that everyone gets the right care at the right time. As part of HPIO’s HIT work, the Institute released Assessing Health Information Technology in Ohio in late 2005, and followed this up with A Strategic Roadmap and Policy Options for the Effective Adoption of Health Information Technology and Exchange in Ohio in 2006. That same year, the Institute was awarded a contract from the Federal government to study how Ohio’s privacy and security laws and business practices would affect this exchange of electronic health information. HPIO has also worked closely with the Governor’s office and the Ohio General Assembly to bring attention to this issue.
About the Health Policy Institute of Ohio


The Health Policy Institute of Ohio is an independent, nonpartisan, statewide center that informs Ohio health policy by forecasting health trends, analyzing key health issues, and communicating current research to policymakers, state agencies and other decision-makers.

Why Does Ohio Need an Independent Health Policy Institute?

States are facing difficult financial situations, both now and in the future as the overall population ages. To deal with this challenge, Ohio needs to reform health policy while also providing good care and keeping health care affordable. In the past, though, Ohio decision makers had no unbiased and nonpartisan statewide resource for advice about health issues. As a result, they have often had to rely on data and analysis provided by interest groups with particular perspectives and agendas. This resulted in a need for reliable, impartial information on which to base decisions.

To address these issues, the Institute works through six avenues to serve as a premiere health policy resource and to provide cutting edge information:

  • Research
    The Institute promotes and facilitates health policy research among existing research centers, universities, and other organizations. It identifies gaps in health policy research and data, designs studies, leads the development of a statewide health policy research agenda, promotes collaboration among researchers, commissions research projects to fill gaps, and, as necessary, undertakes some research directly. In addition, the Institute assists researchers in presenting important findings and in connecting with other researchers and resources.

  • Analysis
    The Institute identifies, investigates and provides relevant, timely, and impartial analysis of current and emerging health trends, issues, and policy outcomes, and synthesizes national and state research for use in Ohio.

  • Communication
    The Institute communicates important and topical health-related information in a timely fashion through policy briefings, forums, white papers, media outreach, and other informational means.

  • Convening
    The Institute convenes health care leaders and representatives from various sectors to identify common goals, share information and resources, analyze multi-faceted and intricate issues, and explore options on how to best move Ohio’s health system forward.

  • Dialogue
    The Institute fosters informed, candid, and contemplative dialogue on important health issues using a format that reflects the Institute’s core principles of neutrality, balance, collaboration, and diversity.

  • Education
    Primary among the Institute’s roles is educating and building the capacity of decision makers with regards health policy issues in the government, public, business, private, nonprofit, civic, academic, and philanthropic sectors.


The Time Is Right

A number of factors make now an important time for providing policymakers with reliable information:

  • Ohio faces significant health-care challenges, forcing individuals, businesses, physicians, hospitals, other providers, health plans, and state and local governments to make difficult decisions on how to provide and receive access to health care. As a result, policymakers are facing ongoing demands from groups wanting to change individual aspects of the health-care system. There is value in bringing these various groups together in a neutral setting for the purpose of looking at systemic change that addresses multiple health-care challenges.

  • Ohio is facing a critical budget shortfall. Medicaid alone accounts for almost a quarter of the state budget and it is critical that decisions aimed at fixing the budget be based on timely, accurate information.

  • The rise in health-care costs places an increasing economic challenge on Ohio businesses and their workers.

  • The current trend toward devolution of regulatory responsibility to the states necessitates more thoughtful analysis at the local level.

  • Term limits in the Ohio legislature have had the unintended effect of decreasing institutional knowledge about key health issues and programs. In addition, each general election brings in a large number of new state legislators, who immediately have to deal with biennium budgets that look to be in poor fiscal shape for the foreseeable future.

  • The number of uninsured Ohioans is increasing.

  • There is increasing concern in Ohio about health disparities that cut across racial, ethnic, and socio-economic lines.

Examples of the Institute's Work

Every two years the Health Policy Institute of Ohio hosts an orientation session on health policy issues for state lawmakers. This half day session focuses on the different health issues, such as Medicaid, that legislators will encounter in the coming year. The first session was held in January 2005, with a number of legislators and aides attending. The next session is scheduled for January 2007. In addition, HPIO responds to a large number of data and information requests each year from state legislators, the Governor’s office, the Legislative Services Commission, and other state and local agencies.

The Institute also hosts a number of policy forums each year on different health policy issues. For example, in early 2005 the Institute held a series of forums around the state on Ohio’s Medicaid program and the different reform proposals then under consideration by the state and federal governments. Forums were held in Dayton, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Columbus, Canton, and Athens, with nearly 400 people attending. Other forum topics from recent years include employer workforce health management strategies (such as requiring employees to not smoke either on or off the job), examining health care reforms and strategies being implemented by other states, examining Ohio’s small-group health insurance market, and more.

For the last three summers, the Institute has sponsored the Summer Program in Applied Statistical Methods in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Health, the Ohio State University School of Public Health, the Center for Biostatistics at the Ohio State University, and the Franklin County Board of Health. This practitioner-based epidemiology course has been attended by hundreds of state and local health department workers and covers advanced epidemiological concepts, investigative practices, and public health research.

Other recent work of the Institute includes promoting and facilitating Health Information Technology initiatives in Ohio (see box above for more information) and facilitating analysis of data from the Ohio Family Health Survey—the results of are being released by the Institute as a series of data briefs and as an upcoming chart book. The Institute has also provided research assistance to the Ohio Commission to Reform Medicaid (One of the Institute’s publications, Ohio Medicaid Reform: Key Issues to Consider, was originally produced to educate the Commission on the various challenges in reforming Ohio’s Medicaid program). Finally, the Institute has served as a neutral convener of interested stakeholders around different health policy issues, such as with the Ohio Dental Workforce Roundtable. This Institute-lead state-wide collaboration explored dental workforce issues and developed recommendations on how to increase access to dental care for vulnerable Ohioans.


A Sample of Publications

Ohio's Small Group Health Insurance Market (July 2006). An issue report examining the underlying challenges of the small group health insurance market, with a focus on Ohio, and potential policy options.

Obesity: The Health Debate and Policy Challenges (October 2005). This issue report provides an overview of on the issue of obesity, with a special focus on Ohio.

Assessing Health Information Technology in Ohio (October 2005). This briefing paper reports on the status of health information technology and health information exchange in Ohio.

Does Oral Health Matter? (May, 2005). Provides a brief overview of oral health issues, including the status of oral health at the state and national levels.

Ohio Medicaid Reform: Key Issues to Consider (April, 2005). Provides a brief overview of the different issues that arise in attempting to reform Ohio’s Medicaid program.

Ohio Medicaid Basics (February, 2005). Provides an overview of Ohio Medicaid, including eligibility, key programs, financing, and expenditures. Originally published in 2003, this new edition is completely updated with the most recent data, statistics, and information about the state’s Medicaid program.

Understanding Health Disparities (November, 2004). Examines all aspects of racial and ethnic health discrepancies, with a special focus on Ohio.


Our Funders

The following foundations have provided up to five years of core funding to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio:

  • The Anthem Foundation of Ohio (based in Cincinnati)
  • The Cleveland Foundation
  • The George Gund Foundation (based in Cleveland)
  • The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati
  • The Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation (based in Cleveland)
  • Saint Luke’s Foundation of Cleveland
  • Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton with the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland
  • The United Way of Greater Cincinnati, the United Way of Central Ohio, and the United Way of Greater Cleveland

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The Health Policy Institute of Ohio, 37 West Broad Street, Suite 350, Columbus, OH 43215-4198
Phone: 614-224-4950    Fax: 614-224-2205