A WORD FROM JENN SEARLS:

Empowering Patients and Connecting Providers

Connie is heating up this summer! We’ve put in the work and produced fantastic results in working towards our goals of empowering consumers, implementing the stakeholder mandate to assist providers and physicians, and supporting public health reporting to support a more connected, healthier Connecticut. I’m excited to share our progress with you, and proud of what the Connie team has achieved with the cooperation of our stakeholders and connected providers.   

Empowering Consumers 

Connie’s consumer mandate encoded in its enabling legislation requires Connie to empower consumers by providing them secure electronic access to their health information and allowing voluntary participation by patients to access their health information. We take that mandate seriously and have from the start of Connie. Even before we had data in Connie, we enabled patients to opt out of sharing their information in Connie. To date, almost 6,300 patients have exercised that option.

Late last year, we implemented a method of responding to patient access inquiries through Carequality, a trusted framework that allows secure sharing of data across authorized networks. 

In October, we anticipate taking our patient portal live. This is the first step in providing patients secure electronic access to their health information at no charge. To assist Connie as it continues to focus on its consumer mandate, we’ve created a Patient & Family Advisory Committee (PFAC) consisting of volunteer Connecticut residents who meet and contribute their opinions and experiences to help inform our decision-making processes.  The PFAC has already begun meeting and provided invaluable insights on what success would look like for Connie from the patient perspective.  



Connecting Stakeholders 

Of course, one of the key ways we support our consumer mandate is to ensure that we have their complete medical record across all sites of care. To do that, Connie has continued apace with connecting with healthcare providers across the state. As I reported at the May HITAC meeting, Connie is really blanketing the state with connected and participating organizations – more than 2,000 organizations including all the major health systems and more than 50% of the ambulatory medical practices in the state. In addition, we’ve focused follow-up efforts in key markets to ensure that participating organizations are not only providing data but know how to access data to benefit their patients.

Benefits of Connie are Statewide  

Finally, we continue to work with our state agency partners to reduce the administrative burden on the agency and participating organizations required to connect to and provide information to those agencies. In addition to working closely with DSS, Connie has been working with DPH to help in their lab modernization efforts.  

As Connie moves into the next quarter, I’m proud to look back at our progress with these achievements as we connect healthcare stakeholders across the state, and am grateful to our connected stakeholders, providers, and the Connie team in building a strong foundation for a more integrated, patient-focused healthcare system. 

NEW PARTICIPANTS ARE JOINING CONNIE EVERY DAY!

We are thrilled to share with you that as of last quarter, we have established connections with hundreds of participating organizations (POs) that securely exchange data for over 4.8 million patients through Connie. We would like to highlight some of our recently onboarded partners who are actively sharing data via our Health Information Exchange. Don't forget to explore the Connected Participating Organizations Dashboard to view our continuously growing list of connected organizations and discover the valuable data they contribute! 

The eagerly anticipated Connie 2.0 website is LIVE! Redesigned with a modern look, the new and improved site is full of new information tailored to both providers and patients. 

Be sure to check out our Progress Display bar, which shows the status of healthcare organizations connected with Connie, a revamped FAQ section, and a chatbot! The chatbot will instantly answer commonly asked questions, all without needing to wait for a Connie representative! We also have a brand-new services page, designed to demonstrate how Connie can help solve real-life challenges and improve patient outcomes.  

Don't forget to visit Connie University, an evolving, interactive hub for training materials, tools, and resources. User guides, service overviews, webinars, podcasts, walkthrough tutorials, and newsletters are all available through the University, so organizations can stay informed and master all things Connie!  

Need more Connie? Our YouTube channel is full of materials to help your organization implement Connie services and discover useful features, or follow us on social media to stay on top of news and updates! 

CHECK OUT OUR LATEST PARTICIPANT TESTIMONIAL

"The most positive impact is that we are able to care for our patients a lot better. Even though we don't get the records from some facilities, I'm able to pull [those] patient records, put them in their chart, and have Dr. Donato review - sometimes before they even come in - so she knows what she's walking into with a patient. She doesn't have to be blindsided anymore." 

Michelle Garceau, Clinic Lead & Manager | Just Health Family Medicine   

NEW TIPS AND TRICKS VIDEO SERIES

Have you seen our new Tips and Tricks videos? These bite-sized videos are designed to help authorized Connie participants discover cool features in our portal! Our Medication Management video highlights how this incredible tool benefits your practice and allow a patient's healthcare team to improve patient care and streamline communications within the healthcare community.

We're always adding new content, so don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay updated on our latest videos and Connie services! 

UPCOMING WEBINARS FOR PROSPECTIVE AND CONNECTED ORGS!

Not Yet Connected? Join Our FREE Webinar on the Power and Purpose of Connecting with Connie!

If you know a healthcare organization that hasn’t yet connected with Connie, share this free upcoming webinar, featuring steps to connect, overview, in-depth exploration of Connie’s core services, and a portal demonstration. This is an opportunity for healthcare organizations to discover how they can effortlessly enhance patient care through interoperable healthcare connectivity!

REGISTER NOW

Already Connected with Connie? Elevate Your Experience! Join Our FREE Webinar and Optimize Your User Experience!

Inviting all Connie-connected organizations to attend our free webinar! Join a Connie Account Manager as they walk us through the latest updates, portal demos, and live Q&A session. Although this webinar is hosted with connected and in-process organizations, everyone is encouraged to attend! 

REGISTER NOW

CELEBRATING CONNIE ANNIVERSARIES

We’re so excited to commemorate the work anniversaries of three team members at Connie! We've asked COO Michelle Puhlick, Director and Account Manager Amanda Crociata, and Clinical Application Trainer Erin Tyrol to share their thoughts and greatest lessons learned here. Thank you for all that you do! 

"I deeply value the genuine appreciation I receive, not only from my manager but also from my teammates. Our daily interactions are filled with smiles and positive support. Additionally, having a work/life balance is a new experience for me, and I greatly appreciate it. Most importantly, being in a role where I can continue to make a positive impact on patient care brings me happiness." 

"Time really does fly when you’re having fun! I can’t believe it’s already been three years since joining the amazing Connie team! I am so grateful to learn from such a talented group of people every day, who are all motivated to see Connie succeed and to improve patient care in CT! I can’t believe how far we’ve come in such a short time, and look forward to being a part keeping things moving forward!" 

It has been amazing being a part of Connie's incredible journey from the very beginning to now, as the vision of Connie has come to life and is delivering on the mission to enhance the health and well-being of CT residents. 

WELCOME OUR NEW BOARD MEMBER, ADAM PRIZIO!



Adam Prizio is an attorney at Office of the Healthcare Advocate, where he assists Connecticut consumers to resolve issues and questions regarding their health insurance and secure access to health care. He is a graduate of Notre Dame Law School and lives in Wethersfield. 

YOUR OPINION MATTERS!

If you're a regular Connie user and would like to provide us with some feedback on our current services, we would love to hear from you! Please take 2 minutes to complete our survey below. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!