The Mass HIway

The goal of the Mass HIway is to support the electronic exchange of patient information across the healthcare community, enhancing care coordination and improving the quality and cost of care for Massachusetts residents.

This includes facilitating care providers in improving their processes of sharing, reconciling, and analyzing Protected Health Information (PHI) to better manage the quality and cost of healthcare.

To this end, the Mass HIway offers a range of services and resources to facilitate and educate with regard to the use of Health Information Exchange (HIE) by care providers throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The HIE efforts cover Direct Messaging, Event Notification Services (ENS), Public Health Reporting, methods to enhance the interoperability of healthcare systems improve workflows by means of HIE utilization.

The HIway is operated by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), its services are regulated through the Mass HIway Regulations. The HIway is overseen by a Health Information Technology (HIT) Council, and informed by consumer, provider, legal and policy, and technology advisory groups to promote a transparent multi-stakeholder engagement model. Click here for meeting dates, presentations, and notes of the HIT Council.

The key services and resources provided by the Mass HIway include:

• Continued development of the Mass HIway infrastructures
• Provider organization education and outreach
• EHR/Practice Management Vendor integration services
• Onboarding and Enrollment
• Secure Direct Messaging
• Account Management and Consulting Services
• HIway Adoption and Utilization Support
• A Statewide ENS Framework
• Onboarding and Enrollment
• Toolkits and best practices to facilitate the utilization of HIE and Query HIE

Visit the Services and Resources menus to review all the available services and resources. Key aspects are highlighted below.

Mass HIway Direct Messaging

The Mass HIway offers a secure Health Information Exchange (HIE) for all healthcare systems in Massachusetts, regardless of affiliation, location, or differences in technology. The HIway's Direct Messaging mechanism enables healthcare providers to exchange health information for the patients they serve. It is a cost-effective tool to improve care coordination, care quality, patient satisfaction, and public health reporting.

The Mass HIway's Direct Messaging solution offers doctors’ offices, hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies, skilled nursing facilities, and other healthcare organizations a cost-effective way to securely and seamlessly exchange vital health data electronically to better serve their shared patients. To learn more about HIway Direct Messaging, click here. To enroll, click here.

HIway Connection Requirement

Massachusetts care providers are subject to the Mass HIway Regulations, including the HIway Connection Requirement. Currently, Acute Care Hospitals, Community Health Centers, and Medium/Large Medical Ambulatory Practices are subject to the HIway Connection Requirement. To learn more about the HIway Regulations and Connection Requirement, click here.

HIway Account Management

The Mass HIway supports providers in connecting and using the Mass HIway. This support is provided by our HIway Account Management team. To learn more, click here.

Statewide ENS Framework

An Event Notification Service (ENS) is a specialized form of HIE used to alert care providers about their patients’ Admissions, Discharges, and Transfers (ADT) to hospitals, Emergency Departments, and post-acute care facilities. The Mass HIway created and administers the Statewide ENS Framework, which is an ENS solution that serves all Massachusetts care providers.

Acute Care Hospitals must connect to the Statewide ENS Framework to submit Admission Discharge and Transfer notifications (ADTs).

All other care providers are encouraged to participate in the framework as well to receive ADTs. To learn more about the Statewide ENS Framework, click here.

History of the Mass HIway

In October 2012, Massachusetts first launched the statewide electronic Health Information Exchange, The Massachusetts Health Information Highway (The Mass HIway). The Mass HIway provided Massachusetts care providers with a cost-effective Direct Messaging alternative.

In 2018, the Mass HIway released HIway 2.0, which is based on Orion Health's Communicate platform. HIway 2.0 aligns the HIway's Direct Messaging capabilities with modern interoperability standards, simplifies the connection process, and improves the user experience. Review the new features in the graphic shown below.

To enable providers to take advantage of the improved HIE capabilities, all HIway 1.0 users have been migrated to HIway 2.0.

To get started with enrolling and onboarding onto Mass HIway 2.0, click here.

Mass HIway Overview Video

Review the animated video below to learn more about the Mass HIway.

Subscribe to Mass HIway Newsletter

To stay up to date with the latest services, resources, regulations, and other aspects pertaining to the Mass HIway and advances in HIE, click here to subscribe to the Mass HIway Newsletter.