georgiahealthinfo.gov is designed to help Georgia’s citizens make better health care decisions by providing them with more information to consider when selecting health care providers and services. Choosing the providers and services that best meet their medical, financial and access to care needs will improve the value of health care delivery for consumers. Increased information regarding health care choices is expected to promote competition among providers to offer the best possible care. The Web site is made possible through the efforts of the Department of Community Health’s Office of Health Information Technology and Transparency (HITT).
October 2006: Governor Sonny Perdue issued an executive order creating the Health Information Technology and Transparency (HITT) Advisory Board
November 2006: Commissioner Rhonda Medows announces HITT Advisory Board members
November 2006: First meeting of the HITT Advisory Board
October 2007: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded the Georgia Department of Community Health a $3,929,855 Medicaid Transformation Grant to assist with the implementation of georgiahealthinfo.gov
November 2007: The Georgia Department of Community Health issued $853,088 in Health Information Exchange (HIE) grants to four organizations to help foster the development of HIE, electronic prescribing, and/or adoption of electronic medical records across Georgia. The awardees will provide matching funds to those given to them by the state.
December 2007: The Georgia Department of Community Health submitted a proposal to participate in the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaborative with 34 other states. The purpose of the Collaborative is to increase the state’s efforts to educate and build consumer understanding and trust in the privacy and security of electronic health information.
January 2008: Announced creation of the Office of HITT
January 2008: Presentation of the HITT Strategic Plan to the HITT Advisory Board. The Strategic Plan:
January 2008: Transparency Web site (georgiahealthinfo.gov) Request for Proposals released to the public
February 2008: Transparency Web site (georgiahealthinfo.gov) Request for Proposals due from prospective vendors to the Georgia Department of Community Health
March 2008: Governor Sonny Perdue signed an executive order creating the Georgia RX Exchange with the Georgia Department of Community Health, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, the Georgia Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Georgia Department of Human Resources
May 2008: The Georgia Department of Community Health awards Transparency Web site (georgiahealthinfo.gov) contract to IBM. IBM will be responsible for building the infrastructure of the Georgia Transparency Web site for health care consumers
June 2008: Georgia named Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Demonstration Community, one of 12 pilot sites in the nation. The research project will study the impact of incentives on EHR adoption and Quality of Care provided by primary care providers
August 2008: The Georgia Department of Community Health announced second round of HIE grant opportunities. The 2008 Grantees are: Chatham County, Washington County, and St. Joseph’s Hospital
October 2008: The Prototype of the georgiahealthinfo.gov Transparency Web site successfully demonstrated for the Governor’s review
December 2008: Public launch of Phase I of georgiahealthinfo.gov Web site
March 2009: The Georgia Department of Community Health was designated by Governor Sonny Perdue as the state agency to receive health information technology (HIT) grants available through the ARRA of 2009
The State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP), a division of the Georgia Department of Community Health, provides health insurance coverage to state employees, school system employees, retirees and their dependents. As of September 1, 2009, the SHBP provided health coverage for 693,716 members and dependents. SHBP currently offers four Plan options for its active members and their dependents, including: 1) Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), 2) High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), 3) Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and 4) Preferred Provider Organization (PPO). In addition, retirees enrolled in Medicare may choose to enroll in a Medicare Advantage option with prescription drug overage. For more information, visit the dch.georgia.gov.
PeachCare for Kids™ is a comprehensive health care program for uninsured children living in Georgia through a partnership between the Georgia Department of Community Health , Georgia Families and three health care plans, also known as private care management organizations (CMOs). The plans are Amerigroup Community Care, Peach State Health Plan and WellCare. The health benefits include primary, preventive, specialist, dental care and vision care. PeachCare for Kids™ also covers hospitalization, emergency room services, prescription medications and mental health care. Each child in the program has a Georgia Families CMO who is responsible for coordinating the child's care. For more information, visit dch.georgia.gov.
