2009 West Virginia Code
CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH
ARTICLE 29H. INTERAGENCY HEALTH COUNCIL.
§16-29H-6 Development of a strategic plan.

§16-29H-6. Development of a strategic plan.
The director shall develop a five-year strategic plan for implementation of any and all health care system reform initiatives. These initiatives shall be included, but are not limited to:

(1) Development of pilot projects for patient-centered medical homes as set forth in section nine of this article;

(2) Prioritization of chronic conditions to be targeted for purposes of resource allocation and for greater chronic care management. This should include pilot projects for community-based health teams for the development of care plans for healthy children and adults to maintain good health and for at risk populations to prevent development of preventable chronic diseases;

(3) Development of standardized prior authorization requirements and processes from insurers;

(4) Coordination with the State Board of Education as set forth in article two, chapter eighteen of this code to provide for:

(i) The preservation and allocation of recess time away from instruction and separate from physical education classes in the state schools;

(ii) Continuing education for school food personnel and a career hierarchy for food personnel that offers rewards for continuing education hours and credits;

(iii) School-based physical education coordinators; and

(iv) Placement of a dietician in each regional education service area throughout the state;

(5) Implementation of school-based initiatives to achieve greater dietary consistency in West Virginia's school system and to gain greater physical fitness from students;

(6) Development of community-based projects designed for the construction, development and maintenance of bicycle and pedestrian trails and sidewalks;

(7) Development and implementation of universal wellness and health promotion benefits;

(8) Continued promotion and support for efforts to decrease the number of West Virginians using tobacco products;

(9) Any necessary changes that will increase small businesses who offer available health insurance as a benefit of employment;

(10) Development of goals to further improve health care delivery in West Virginia. This should include a means to evaluate progress toward achieving these goals in a simple and timely manner;

(11) Measurement of progress of health care providers and physicians to the adoption and use of electronic medical records in their offices;

(12) Collaboration on health information technology with the West Virginia Health Information Network, the Bureau for Medical Services and other appropriate entities which shall include:

(i) Working through the West Virginia Health Information Network, the Bureau for Medical Services and other appropriate entities, to develop a collaborative approach for health information exchange;

(ii) Facilitating and encouraging of ongoing projects such as electronic medical record resources in community health clinics;

(iii) Encouragement of continued development of hospital systems and deployment of hospital-supported electronic medical records when available for hospital-based, hospital-employed and nonhospital-employed physicians;

(iv) Development of strategies to implement tax incentives, vendor discounts, enhanced reimbursement and other means to individual physician offices and clinics to encourage greater adoption and use of electronic medical records;

(v) Development of recommended electronic medical record best practices utilizing the Certification Commission for Health Care Information Technology as the minimum standard;

(vi) Development of funding mechanisms that provide initial start up funds and a mechanism for sustainability of electronic medical records; and

(vii) Exploration of federal funding to ensure the most efficient and cost-effective means of meeting the state's health information technology objectives.