The Health Information Technology (HIT) board is composed of healthcare professionals in Nebraska. Gothenburg Health is represented by two board members, Dr. Anna Dalrymple and Lynn Edwards, and is the hospital furthest west to have representation.

The HIT board was created by LB1183 in 2020 and was tasked with “the responsibility of assuring appropriate application of health information technology, wide availability and access to data sources, and adherence to federal regulations involving privacy and security.” They are responsible for decisions, recommendations and oversight of the collection and use of data for the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) and the Health Information Exchange (HIE).

Dalrymple serves as Vice President on the executive board of the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians (NAFP). She said she was asked to apply for a position on the board because they wanted a family practice physician in a rural area. “I believe it is significant to have a rural voice for how information is used and protected in electronic data bases,” she said.

Edwards’ professional membership in the Nebraska Health Information Association provided her with the awareness that volunteers were wanted. She said she submitted a resume and qualifications. After being interviewed by a panel which included a senator and was televised, she was selected. “I am surrounded by very intelligent and qualified people. What I can provide is how these studies apply to the end user. Anna’s and my roles are different. She comes in as a doctor with a focus on utilization. I look at it differently because of my background with HIPAA and patient security,” she said.

According to the HIT Board overview, the board in partnership with CyncHealth will work in light of the opioid crisis to monitor the PDMP as it “continues to evolve and must be flexible to change in order to remain a role model for PDMPs across the nation.”

The board was formed in April of last year. Dalrymple and Edwards will serve for five years while attending quarterly meeting, at least half of which will be hosted in Lincoln. Dalrymple said meetings are typically related to approving requests for access to and overall governance of the databases.