INTRODUCTION: What is this Newsletter About?

Welcome to our State Agency Newsletter! As a non-profit organization primarily funded by the state, we are dedicated to being the primary resource for all your community care goals. We encourage you to always prioritize THINK CONNIE FIRST when striving to improve the health outcomes of the communities we serve.

Connie plays an essential role in facilitating a secure and appropriate exchange of electronic health information among healthcare providers, public health agencies, and other stakeholders involved in the care of Connecticut's residents.

We recognize the crucial role of state agencies in providing essential care to the community, from ensuring public health and safety to promoting the growth and development of children. These agencies also play a valuable part in supporting vulnerable members of the community to live fulfilling and productive lives, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them to achieve our shared goal of improving health outcomes for all.

In this newsletter, we will keep you updated on our latest initiatives and collaborations, share insights on the benefits of an HIE, and highlight how our platform is positively impacting the lives of patients across Connecticut. We also look forward to hearing from you and learning how Connie can assist you in achieving your data-driven goals.

Thank you for your interest in Connie and for aligning with our mission to improve the health of Connecticut through innovative technology. We hope you find this newsletter informative and valuable, and we look forward to working with you to create a healthier Connecticut!

Innovating Healthcare Connectivity:

Connie Collaborates with Connecticut's DPH Lab

Connie (Connecticut’s Health Information Exchange) is actively engaged in a transformative collaboration with the Department of Public Health (DPH) Lab in Connecticut. This partnership will improve the landscape of healthcare connectivity, with a focus on simplifying processes, reducing administrative burdens, and improving overall efficiency.

The State of Connecticut's DPH Lab is rolling out a state-of-the-art Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), designed to facilitate electronic test order and results (ETOR) exchange. Connie is playing a pivotal role in supporting DPH Lab during this technological transition, ensuring seamless data routing between healthcare providers and DPH.

With hospitals already connected with Connie, the collaboration leverages existing connectivity requirements to streamline data flow between healthcare providers and DPH. The objective is to simplify the exchange of Observation Result Unsolicited (ORU) messages for test orders and results. Connie will seamlessly interface with the LIMS service, managing the synchronization process efficiently.

A pivotal aspect of this collaboration lies in the flexibility of defining the entities involved in lab order submissions. Acknowledging that this may include a spectrum of provider organizations engaged in sending lab orders, Connie ensures that the solution is tailored to the diverse healthcare landscape. 

The collaboration between Connie and DPH Lab promises several impactful benefits:

• Decreased Administrative Burden and Cost: DPH Lab stands to benefit from reduced administrative burdens and costs associated with maintaining individual connections to multiple hospitals.
• Simplified Provider Connections: Healthcare providers will witness a decrease in administrative workload as they no longer need to establish connections with multiple entities or access various systems for manual entry of orders.
• Efficiency through Automation: Integration with DPH's LIMS will decrease reliance on manual entry of orders, leading to improved accuracy and operational efficiency.
• Modernizing Communication Channels: These collaborative efforts aim to eliminate the reliance on faxing results to systems that currently depend on manual data entry, ushering in a more streamlined and secure process.



This collaboration signifies a significant leap forward in healthcare data exchange in Connecticut. By synergizing efforts, the partnership between Connie and DPH Lab aims to enhance the quality of care, reduce administrative burdens, and foster a more connected and efficient healthcare ecosystem.



Leveraging Connie: Enhancing Connecticut's Opioid Response Initiatives Through Data Collaboration

In the ongoing battle against opioid overdose and addiction, Connecticut is looking toward innovative solutions to bolster its response efforts. One such solution lies in the untapped potential of Connie, the state-designated Health Information Exchange. While existing initiatives by the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) have laid crucial groundwork for tracking opioid-related data, Connie stands ready to complement and enhance these efforts.

Connie's strength lies in its ability to bridge the gap between different state agency datasets. By serving as a centralized platform for data sharing and analysis, Connie can facilitate seamless collaboration among various agencies involved in the opioid response initiatives. This interconnectedness enables the consolidation of disparate data sources, streamlining access, and empowering state agencies with enriched datasets for informed decision-making.

There has been much progress made in data reporting since 2016 (https://portal.ct.gov/core2023 - Pg. 18); however, the Connecticut Opioid REsponse (CORE) Initiative noted missed opportunities to fully leverage Connecticut's data infrastructure. Connie stands ready to help by providing a comprehensive solution for interagency data-sharing needs, aligning with the recommendations set forth by the CORE Initiative. Through Connie, agencies can not only share data securely but also support advanced analytics to generate timely metrics crucial for strategy planning and public-facing dashboards.

Moreover, Connie's Patient Match feature further enhances its utility by enabling the linking of patients across datasets, even with demographic information discrepancies. This capability ensures a more comprehensive understanding of opioid-related trends and outcomes, ultimately guiding more targeted interventions and resource allocation.

As Connecticut prepares to allocate opioid settlement funds efficiently, the imperative for state agencies to support data sharing among themselves becomes even more pronounced. In this landscape, Connie emerges as a pivotal tool, linking information across systems and agencies and maximizing the value of existing data assets. Connecticut, recognizing the importance of being a good steward of state resources, has strategically leveraged Connie's established network and capabilities for various projects. By harnessing the interoperability of Connie, Connecticut can forge a path toward a more effective, data-driven response to the opioid crisis, ultimately saving lives and safeguarding public health.

Connie's dedicated State Agency Newsletter is a valuable resource for staying up-to-date with how Connecticut and other states are leveraging HIEs to improve their programs. By providing timely and accurate data on the health of populations, HIEs can help agencies better target their resources and comply with state and federal regulations related to healthcare data exchange and reporting. As Connecticut's designated health information exchange, Connie is uniquely positioned to provide insights and updates on the latest trends and best practices in the industry.



Our newsletter offers comprehensive coverage of state agency-related topics, including innovative solutions to the most pressing issues. Be sure to subscribe and forward this email to your colleagues to ensure everyone in your organization has access to this important information!