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WHERE IS CONNIE NOW? Empowering Healthcare: Connie's Remarkable Journey in Connecticut
In the dynamic healthcare landscape, innovation plays a pivotal role in enhancing patient outcomes and optimizing processes. A standout illustration of this advancement is the groundbreaking work in Connecticut through its designated Health Information Exchange, Connie.
May 3, 2021, marked a significant milestone as the Office of Health Strategy (OHS) deemed Connie operational. Since then, the progress we have made with our healthcare providers is nothing short of astounding.
Connie has become the nexus for Connecticut's health systems, seamlessly connecting over 2900 organizations and sharing crucial data for more than 4.7 million unique patients. The significance of its role is reflected in the numbers – Connie processes over 13 million Admission/Discharge/Transfer (ADT) messages, 1.8 million Continuity of Care Documents (CCDAs), and 3.8 million lab, radiology, and transcription results monthly, positioning itself at the forefront of shaping the future of healthcare information exchange.
Underlining its inclusive reach, every health system in Connecticut contributes data to Connie. Moreover, an impressive 27% of known ambulatory practices, with the potential to connect, send data through Connie.
What sets Connie apart is its transformative impact on care coordination and patient engagement. With nearly 1,700 active users and a consistent rise in repeat users, Connie's encounters feature emerges as the most utilized tool. This powerful feature empowers providers to access a comprehensive record of a patient's past encounters from both inpatient and outpatient facilities, fostering a more comprehensive approach to healthcare.
One standout feature is Connie Alerts, also the most widely used tool, allowing providers to retrieve a patient's comprehensive encounter history from both inpatient and outpatient settings. The platform's Alerts feature is instrumental for care coordination, notifying providers of recent patient encounters at different facilities. This capability is especially valuable in emergencies, enabling timely support and follow-up care across various healthcare professionals and facilitating tailored interventions for patients at high risk or in need of specific programs and services.
This feature proved crucial in a real-life scenario shared by Zachary Dauphinais, MS, Clinical Informatics Manager at United Services, Inc. When a client had disengaged from services and conventional communication channels failed, Connie's notification of the client's emergency department visit and subsequent inpatient transfer turned the tide. Empowered by Connie, United Services gained invaluable access to critical information, enabling them to reconnect the client with vital services and showcasing the tangible impact on patient well-being.
Beyond encounters and alerts, Connie is paving the way for a new era of healthcare information display. Clinical information, including lab results, radiology reports, medications, immunizations, health conditions, and allergies, is presented in meaningful ways, providing a comprehensive snapshot for providers.
Connie's influence extends beyond clinical data; it’s evolving to support social determinants of health (SDOH). The platform seamlessly pulls patient demographics from shared data, a pivotal component of our patient match. When a patient's address is updated during a visit, Connie ensures the patient's updated address is also shared with the patient's other treating providers. This commitment to comprehensive care is further exemplified by the inclusion of patient-reported social needs, such as food insecurity, in the SDOH section of the Connie Portal and InContext application. These features demonstrate our dedication to holistic care, with expansion plans encompassing SDOH referrals and assessments to further enhance our ability to address patients' needs comprehensively.
As Connecticut continues to harness Connie's capabilities and the success stories multiply, demonstrating the game-changing potential of this innovative platform, the question now lingers for state agencies nationwide – how can Connie's success story inspire and guide their journey toward achieving public health and population management goals? The possibilities are limitless, and the journey towards a more connected, patient-centric healthcare system has only just begun.
Where is Connie now? Leading the way towards a more connected and healthier future!
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