Massachusetts ENS Initiative

The Massachusetts's ENS Initiative was created by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) to support care providers across the Commonwealth in the adoption and utilization of Event Notification Services (ENS).

The goal of the initiative was to create a Statewide ENS Framework to improve care delivery, coordination, and quality across all care providers in the Commonwealth. To reach this goal, EOHHS defined the objectives, regulations, and certification requirements outlined in the graphic below.

Overview of the goals and objectives of the initiative

In its effort to create the Statewide ENS Framework, EOHHS commissioned the Mass HIway with developing the framework as part of the HIway's mission to promote HIE in Massachusetts. The Mass HIway developed the framework with the following guiding principles:

  • Create an interoperable ENS network comprised of Certified ENS Vendors
  • Leverage the existing ENS vendor marketplace in Massachusetts
  • Promote data sharing within the Statewide ENS Framework
  • Provide universal access to ENS for Massachusetts care providers of all sizes
  • Require/encourage providers to sign up for ENS to send/receive notifications
  • Allow providers a single point of submission and reception of ENS data
  • Improve ENS notification timing and data flow (real/near-real time)

The definition of the Statewide ENS Framework was informed through a stakeholder-based process that included a Request for Information (RFI) to gain input from the healthcare community, and a Request for Application (RFA) to select and certify ENS vendors with a presence in the Commonwealth. The table below shows the timeline of this effort.

Timeline of the Initiative

The Statewide ENS Framework was rolled out in September, 2020. To learn more about the Statewide ENS Framework, and to subscribe to the interoperable ENS network that it governs, click here.