California is at the forefront of breaking down barriers in health care and social services delivery by promoting collaboration across sectors for better overall health. Professionals understand that to provide the best care, they need a complete understanding of a patient’s physical and mental health, education, housing, and social history. Access to data enables the provision of tailored and coordinated care.
However, crucial information necessary for providing coordinated services often remains isolated due to physical and legal constraints. Recognizing the need for formal coordination, various state-supported initiatives in health, nutrition, education, safety, and housing aim to bridge this gap. California can capitalize on this opportunity by developing a statewide approach to data sharing across health and social services, using financial and technical resources effectively.
This research was funded by the California Health Care Foundation in collaboration with Connecting for Better Health, BluePath Health, and Stewards of Change Institute.
Consent-to-Share: California’s Opportunity to Modernize Cross-Sector Data Sharing
This paper outlines the key components required to expand consent management services from county-level pilots to a statewide information exchange. It emphasizes the importance of informed consent in facilitating data sharing to enhance service delivery and improve health outcomes. Key recommendations include:
- Accelerating the adoption of state legal interpretations
- Advancing policy and technology
- Developing standardized consent forms
- Establishing statewide consent management programs in collaboration with agencies beyond the California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS)
CalAIM ASCMI Pilot: A Major Step Forward, What Comes Next? – September 22, 2023
This webinar focused on the findings from the California Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHCS) Authorization to Share Confidential Medi-Cal Information (ASCMI) pilot to share an overview, lessons learned, and how the ASCMI pilot can inform broader CalAIM goals.
Speakers included representatives from each pilot site, encompassing health information exchanges (HIEs), health plans, and community partners. They additionally examined the benefits and drawbacks of the ASCMI universal consent form and what California needs to actualize statewide implementation of a consent management system.
Legal Considerations for Consent-to-Share – October 19, 2023
Numerous laws exist to govern consent-to-share, but they are often not uniformly applied or understood. The California State Health Information Guidance (SHIG) is a go-to resource to clarify state and federal laws that impact how health data can be shared. In addition, recent guidance was also released for CalAIM data sharing.
This webinar discussed how these tools can help develop a collective understanding and support implementation of consent management.
The DxF Digital Identities Strategy: Consent, Funding, and Technology Considerations – December 11, 2023
This webinar examined California’s Digital Identities Strategy, which required to be developed alongside the Data Exchange Framework (DxF). Speakers discussed how California can ensure parallel development of consent management technology, funding streams to support these developments, and current technology solutions.
Technology and Data Standards that Enable Consent – January 17, 2024
Consent-to-share can provide the necessary data exchange permissions for health and social service organizations to improve care coordination. This webinar explored a variety of technical components to enable health and social service information sharing under California’s Data Exchange Framework (DxF), including how we can utilize HL7 and FHIR data standards to achieve granular consent.
