The number of health information organizations across California has steadily increased since 2012, according to a new California Health eQuality (CHeQ) map.
So far, the map shows that 35 counties either have operational or emerging community HIO initiatives, more than half of California’s 58 counties.
The biggest concentration of operational HIOs are in northern California, including Shasta, Glenn, Butte, Yuba, Yolo and Sutter counties. Emerging HIOs that are not yet transmitting data but are determining their objectives and plans include Humboldt, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Bernardino counties.
In the past year, three HIOs went live, one is in a pilot stage of operation, and four initiatives to begin a program for an HIO have been established.
However, there are still swaths of California without any HIOs, including a large portion of central California that extends along the state’s eastern border.
