EMI Awarded Over $4M in Contracts From the Department of Health and Human Services to Support COVID-19-Related Workforce Development and Care Coordination Initiatives

WASHINGTON, DC; Dec. 1, 2021 — EMI announced today that it was awarded two contracts to support workforce development and care coordination initiatives stemming from the COVID-19 crisis. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has selected EMI to support the Public Health Informatics & Technology (PHIT) Workforce Development Program, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) awarded EMI a contract to expand e-care planning tools for clinicians, patients, and caregivers to manage multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) to include care planning for long COVID.

Using public health informatics and health information technology (IT) is an essential capability for researching and designing disease prevention and health promotion interventions. Recognizing this critical need, ONC devoted $73 million in the PHIT Workforce Development Program to collectively train more than 4,000 individuals through an interdisciplinary approach in public health informatics and technology through 10 awardees of the program. EMI will support this effort by providing technical assistance for PHIT Workforce Program awardees which include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Servicing Institutions (HSIs), and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs).

“An investment in training the next generation of public health informaticists and technologists will always be a worthwhile endeavor,” says Laurel Goldberg, Chief Operational Officer and General Counsel at EMI. “We are proud to support ONC and PHIT awardees in building capacity for the next generation of diverse and equity-driven public health leaders.”

More than 25 percent of Americans have MCC, accounting for over 65 percent of U.S. health care spending. The challenges of providing coordinated care to individuals with complex MCC health needs put a strain on our health system. The consequences of COVID-19 are likely to exacerbate this strain as increasing numbers of long-term, debilitating symptoms appear in individuals who have recovered from the acute infection. Care planning using shared health data elements and electronic systems offers a promising solution to managing the health needs of individuals with MCC. EMI will work with NIDDK and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to identify new data elements for long COVID to propel the capture and use of MCC information at the point of care to support patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR). EMI will also incorporate caregiver considerations and build and expand HL7® Fast Health Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) based e-care applications to enable clinicians, patients, and caregivers to better achieve health and wellness goals for individuals with MCC.

“The possibilities for applying health IT, data standards, and data sharing capabilities to solve care coordination and social care challenges are endless,” says Evelyn Gallego, EMI Advisor’s CEO and Co-founder. “The MCC e-care planning standards-based tools will enable health care providers, patients, and their caregivers to fully implement whole-person care instead of managing from a disease-first approach using non-interoperable technology platforms.”

About EMI Solutions

EMI Solutions (EMI) is a technology and innovation consulting firm that operationalizes solutions across the health, human services, defense, and information technology sectors. Our team assists public and private clients bridge the gap between technology innovation and business value. We love what we do and who we do it for. EMI is an SBA-certified Women-Owned Small Business. We are passionate about optimizing the delivery of strategic solutions and how information is used. Learn more at emisolutions.ai.

To learn how EMI Solutions can support your digital transformation and social care integration strategy, contact hello@emisolutions.ai. 

To learn more about the ONC PHIT Workforce Development Program, click here.

To learn more about the joint NIH/NIDDK and AHRQ eCare Plan Project, click here.