CT Health Information Exchange Inks 25 Providers to Expand Network
The Connecticut statewide health information exchange added 25 healthcare providers in an effort to expand its list of clients before its future go-live.
CONNIE, Connecticut’s statewide health information exchange, has announced the addition of 25 healthcare providers, highlighted by two of the state’s largest providers, to its future network, according to a press release emailed to EHRIntelligence.
Vicki Veltri, executive director of the Office of Health Strategy (OHS) and Jenn Searls, executive director of the Health Information Alliance, explained that the 25 providers are necessary for HIE expansion across the state and improved patient care.
"Connie's capability to instantly share health information among providers in a confidential and secure manner is a major benefit to patients," said Searls.
"As healthcare providers and their patients know all too well, limited health information at the point-of-care has been an obstacle to better patient care, better outcomes, and a more efficient healthcare system,” Searls continued. “By bridging the information gap and opening a channel to exchange valuable health information in real time, Connie overcomes that obstacle — ultimately improving the healthcare experience and outcomes for patients and providers."
Community Health Network, Community Medical Group, CT HealthLink, Hartford Healthcare, ProHealth Physicians, and Yale New Haven Hospital are a few of the top providers signed on with CONNIE.
"OHS is very excited about the imminent launch of the health information exchange to ensure better access and coordination of care to target interventions and improve health outcomes,” Veltri said. It's gratifying to know the level of collaboration and hard work bringing all this together."
The statewide HIE aims to reduce costs and improve care by eliminating the chances of duplicative testing. It also intends to identify health trends and link several providers without establishing a connection with each facility.
Moreover, the HIE presents financial benefits for the state because health outcomes data relies on Medicaid and Medicare services. Health systems can only receive payments if they can show they can improve care quality and reduce hospital readmissions.
"Connecticut's health information exchange is a step forward for patients and providers," said Richard Shirey, chief information officer of Hartford HealthCare. "Connie can help improve communication among care providers and increase patient engagement in their healthcare. It is a welcome development, using technology as a tool in providing better care."
Leaders at CONNIE said the HIE has initiated testing patient data exchange with Yale New Haven Health System, one of the state’s largest providers.
"Yale New Haven Health and Yale Medicine are committed to using data and technology to achieve excellence in patient care," said Lisa Stump, senior vice president and chief information officer at Yale New Haven Health System and Yale School of Medicine.
"Health data is created across the many interactions that people have with doctors and care givers from preventive care and primary care, to triage, diagnosis, treatment and aftercare,” Stump continued. “Connecticut's health information exchange creates a technology platform and data flows that enhance the ability for people and their care team to have a unified view of relevant data across all those settings to inform care decisions. We are committed to contributing to the data flow toward achieving these sought-after results."
Searls said one of the HIE’s top goals is to continue to develop its 2019 sustainability plan with its contractor, Velatura. With federal grant funding set to expire on September 30, CONNIE and Velatura will work together to advance this plan and put the project back on track.
"Connie's vision is to bring technology to bear to the benefit of everyone involved in healthcare: patients, providers, and insurers,” Searls concluded. “Having these respected healthcare systems sign on is a major step toward achieving that vision.”
The state is currently in the midst of its fifth attempt to implement a statewide HIE after its health information technology officer, Allan Hackney, resigned in December.