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HCBS Digital Health Program

With funding from DHCF, we administered the HCBS Digital Health Technical Assistance Program.

Latest Updates

HCBS Digital Health Technical Assistance Program

A Model Program for Underserved Providers

Historically, HCBS providers have not been eligible to participate in the Medicaid PI Program and similar federal and state initiatives designed to make access to technology more equitable. eHealthDC is committed to helping these providers in the District strengthen their digital health infrastructure by promoting interoperability and optimizing use of telehealth. 

This first-of-its-kind program aims to provide a model for other agencies seeking to support HCBS providers and support a more integrated and accessible person-centered system.

View the latest program updates and highlights!

Through this innovative and incentivized program, 91 provider organizations received tailored hands-on technical assistance from eHealthDC’s team of subject matter experts and technical assistants.

By the Numbers

The eHealthDC team supports a diverse range of organizations including:

13

ASARS

Addiction and Substance Abuse Recovery Services

18

DDS

Developmental Disabilities Services

7

HSS

Housing and Supportive Services

44

MHRS

Mental Health and Rehabilitative Services

9

LTSS

Long-Term Services and Support

$4.9

Million
Distributed Incentives

Giving Back

The program distributed $4.9 million in incentives to its participating HCBS provider organizations.

The programs funding was essential in assisting organizations with adopting, upgrading, and optimizing electronic health record systems and getting connected to the DC HIE (Health Information Exchange), with the ultimate goal of enhancing patient outcomes and fostering a healthier community.

Announcement: Addition of Milestones 7 and 8

In early 2024, the eHealthDC team introduced two new milestones, Milestones 7 and 8, offering organizations the opportunity to earn up to an additional $10,000 per milestone in incentive funds by fulfilling program requirements. 

In January 2024, the eHealthDC team launched Milestone 7, featuring a series of EHR and HIE trainings, in addition to facilitating learning community sessions. These training sessions were designed to provide guidance for streamlining practice workflows, enhancing the integrity and quality of health information exchange (HIE) data, and fostering collaboration among District providers to improve patient outcomes. The training sessions addressed topics, which included: Advance Care Planning, Best Practices for Improving EHR Data Quality, Care Coordination, Population Health Analytics, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Data Sharing, Security Awareness and Privacy, and the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Consent Tool.

In March 2024, the Department of Healthcare Finance (DHCF) granted a six-month program extension to the eHealthDC team to continue providing post go-live support and HIE tools trainings, prompting the eHealthDC team to develop an additional milestone, Milestone 8. Throughout Summer 2024, Milestone 8 offered learning community sessions designed to promote optimized workflows, improve care coordination, and increase the utilization of the CRISP DC tools for organizations that have implemented, upgraded, or optimized their EHR systems and connected to the DC Health Information Exchange (HIE). The sessions addressed topics including: Harmonizing Your EHR and HIE Integration to Improve Workflows and Patient Care, Enhancing Care Coordination, and Using Population Health to Advance Care Coordination. 

HCBS Providers We Served through this Initiative

Behavioral health providers

Long-term care services and support providers

Disability service providers

Housing support service providers

Find out if your HCBS organization is eligible for assistance.

Review eligibility criteria

Focus Areas

HCBS Promoting Interoperability

Do you need to…

  • Select and implement a new EHR or case management system?
  • Upgrade your existing EHR?
  • Fully connect your EHR to the DC Health Information Exchange?
See How We Can Help

Improving and Optimizing Telehealth

Do you need to…

  • Understand what patients need to interact with you remotely?
  • Assess your own readiness to interact with patients remotely?
  • Adopt new technologies or implement new workflows?
  • Monitor or maximize telehealth usage for better health outcomes?
See How We Can Help

Provider Testimonials

“The entire team was very responsive and very supportive through the entire process. We had support in our workflow analysis and revenue management support. In one instance, we were able to get support in analyzing how we were implementing CRISP and integrating that with our medical team. It resulted in a significant decrease in hospitalizations, just that specific technical support. We are very thankful!”
PSI
Dr. Sadie BiancoChief Clinical Officer, PSI
"We optimized our organizations’ EHR and, “the [eHealthDC team] and the [EHR vendor] made the process seamless, we didn't encounter any challenges on the provider level.” The greatest benefit of this program is the ability to “have access to clinical data through an electronic system that is not dependent on waiting for clinical staff to fax it to us”.
Lara Jusu
Lara JusuVice President, Apex Nursing of Maryland
Prior to eHealthDC’s TA support, “we were limited to the information in the DATA Wits System. (We adopted) a new EHR system that allowed us to collect and report on client demographics and outcomes in a timely manner and we also enjoyed all of the [eHealthDC’s] team training to support our work…to develop and implement a system based on our needs.”
Mark Lassiter
Mark LassiterExecutive Director at DC Recovery
This program impacted our organization by empowering staff to address gaps in care, revealed gaps in care, improved workflow processes, and improved data accuracy and completeness. “The eHealthDC team is great and extremely helpful.”

"Doors of Hope is extremely appreciative of the help that was given! The [eHealthDC team] was very prompt and were always helping us. We switched to a new EHR system and had some hurdles, and the team came to our rescue!"
Pamela Khumbah
Pamela KhumbahCEO of Doors of Hope
“The [eHealthDC] program gave us the push to adopt an EHR when we probably would have waited without the financial incentive and I think long term it will be a net positive for the program”.
Brendan Haley
Brendan HaleyDirector of Single Adults Program at Everyone Home DC
“Our primary challenge was tracking client data across multiple platforms prior to participating in this program. We now have transitioned to one EHR and appreciate having client data all in one place…The greatest benefit was the technical support provided by the [eHealthDC team]. Their team was organized, communicative, supportive and encouraging at each step in the process as we made the transition to our new EHR to comply with DBH requirements.”
Elizabeth Mohler
Elizabeth MohlerDirector of Social Services at Latin American Youth Center
“The greatest benefit [of this program] is Continuity of Care for our consumers…The Life Stride team is more informed and can better assist our consumers with instructions, follow-up appointments, and medication changes.”
Robin Crim
Robin CrimDirector of Health Information Management and Billing at LifeStride
“Prior to participating in the program, our organization faced several challenges accessing client data. These included difficulties in communication with regulatory bodies and limited usability of the system we were using at the time. The program team assisted us in navigating these challenges by providing support and helping us establish better communication channels with regulatory bodies. In addition they assisted us with connecting with CRISP to be able to share and access data regarding our clients.”
Terri WilkinsonCEO at T&N Services and Solutions

How to Get Started

Learn more about our support for HCBS providers and participate in the program!

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Questions about our programs? We're happy to consult with District providers as well as other Medicaid agencies.

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eHealthDC is funded by the DC Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

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Email: contact@e-healthdc.org

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a program of DCPCA
1620 I Street, NW, Suite 300
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