In its fourth year, Healthcare IT Connect is hosting its State HIT Connect Summit to discuss the challenges, solutions and future of health IT. A major focus of the conference was going to be exploring the impact on health IT with the ‘repeal and replacement’ of the Affordable Care Act. However, even with the Republican leaders canceling their vote last week, the conference proved to present on plenty of other strategic issues facing the health IT.  

One of those strategic issues continues to be modularity—or the questions surrounding the term. One question being, “What comes first in a Modular Health and Human Services System?”  CNSI’s own Chief Strategy Officer, Sharif Hussein, took to the stage to answer this question, alongside Jess Kahn, Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid, Director of Data and Systems Group and others from the State of Vermont, Optum and GetInsured.

Ms. Kahn, who started the discussion, did not waste any time diving into the posed question. “Where do you start with modularity? You start by knowing what where you want to take your program. Your desired outcomes should drive the technology.”

Enter stage-left Sharif, evoBrix and State of Michigan. In the span of five minutes, he showcased how the State was able to plan the business, build the platform, publish the standards and launch its core MMIS modules—all while saving tax payer dollars, reducing implementation time, and winning a NASCIO award for cross-state collaboration. 

So while others are still looking to define Modularity, CNSI and its state partners are already there—building it one evo-brick at a time.