Statewide Health Information Network of New York Introduces New Alert System to Improve Care for High-Risk Patients

New York State Department of Health, Brooklyn Health Home and Oscar Demonstrate How Healthix’s Clinical Event Notifications Protect Patients in New York City and Long Island through Real-Time Alerts

New York, NY: The New York State Health Department today joined with Healthix, the Brooklyn Health Home and Oscar to provide an update on the development of New York’s new electronic health record system, the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY).

To demonstrate how the SHIN-NY operates on a regional level, the group highlighted Healthix’s patient alert system, which allows care managers to receive real-time alerts when their patients are admitted to or discharged from a hospital, helping to improve care coordination and reduce avoidable hospital re-admissions.

Healthix, the largest of the nine Qualified Entities that comprise the SHIN-NY, already facilitates health information exchange for 10 million patients across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island.

“Healthix and the other regional networks that comprise the Statewide Health Information Network of New York are essential to improving the delivery of health care in the Empire State,” said acting New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker. “By utilizing advancements in health technology, the SHIN-NY network has given us the ability to ensure that critical health data is up to date and available when it is needed the most.”

Earlier this year, the New York State legislature voted to appropriate $55MM to support the development of the SHIN-NY — a “network of networks.”   The SHIN-NY will enable doctors and patients to securely access their electronic health records no matter where they live or work in the state.  Access to critical health information will improve the quality of care and help reduce unnecessary hospital re-admissions, a key driver of healthcare expenditures in New York.

Healthix’s patient alert system, also known as Clinical Event Notifications, triggers over 5,000 monthly real-time updates to case managers about their high-risk patients, allowing them to better navigate crisis situations and develop comprehensive health care plans to further their care in the future.

“We at Healthix are gratified to be able to deliver tools designed to support providers, assist care managers and help coordinate the care of patients, many of whom struggle with multiple co-morbidities and other complex conditions,” said Tom Check, CEO of Healthix.  “With a growing number of participating clinical, behavioral health and social service providers, as well as health plans, Healthix provides secure access to current patient information wherever and whenever it’s needed.”

 

The Brooklyn Health Home (BHH) coordinates care for over 8,000 at-risk patients across the borough of Brooklyn, and has utilized Healthix’s clinical event notifications with successful results. By using the system, the Health Home’s community-based care managers have been able to expeditiously respond to their patients’ urgent care needs, including visits to emergency rooms and hospital admissions. For example, care managers can bring critical information about patients to hospital staff in real-time, and communicate with patients’ providers in the community to collaborate on care plans that will prevent avoidable hospital visits in the future.

BHH has also implemented protocols that are triggered once a care manager receives an alert. For example, care managers must visit hospitalized patients within two business days, and conduct case conferences with the clinical team. In the third quarter of 2014, Brooklyn Health Home care managers received over 1,300 clinical event notifications from Healthix, and timely responses to these alerts increased by 10% from February – September of 2014.

“Real-time communication and collaboration with a patient’s care team, especially around critical events like ER visits and hospital stays, is the fundamental core of our program,” said Dr. Karen Nelson, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Health Home and Senior Vice President of Integrated Delivery Systems at Maimonides Medical Center. “The Healthix alerts, which are integrated in our care coordination IT platform, are the key drivers that facilitate understanding the root causes of acute care utilization and developing care plans to keep individuals well, in their communities, and accessing appropriate care and services.”

Oscar, the innovative health insurance company representing 17,000 members in New York, has also utilized Healthix’s Clinical Event Notifications for over six months. Thanks to the system, Oscar’s medical team has engaged 80% of their members who generated a Healthix notification on a variety of urgent healthcare issues. Healthix’s system notified Oscar’s medical team of 66 Emergency Room visits and hospital admissions in the past six weeks alone, allowing Oscar’s nurses to provide appropriate care management services, including: care coordination with the Hospital Discharge Planner about post- acute services, arranging and authorizing outpatient rehabilitation and delivery and authorization of medical equipment and supplies.

“Healthix Clinical Event Notifications have enabled Oscar to support our members through new, meaningful interactions with care,” said Oscar co-founder and co-CEO Mario Schlosser.“The CEN process has had a significant effect on improving both the velocity and effectiveness of Case Management and Care Coordination at Oscar. Through this partnership our in-house team of doctors and nurses are able to supplement their knowledge of member health and in turn continue to provide simple, intuitive, health care for all.”

In addition to the Brooklyn Health Home and Oscar, a growing number of healthcare organizations are utilizing Healthix’s alert system, including: NYU Langone Medical Center, Mount Sinai Health System, North Shore-LIJ Health System, Lutheran Medical Center, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, Federation Employment and Guidance Service, Inc. (FEGS), ProHEALTH Care Associates LLP, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and others.

Currently, patient health data in Healthix is accessible only to healthcare providers within New York City and Long Island. But in 2015 the SHIN-NY will expand Healthix’s reach by connecting healthcare providers and case managers to critical patient health information no matter where they are located in the state, with patient consent. For example, if a patient from New York City needed emergency care while visiting Albany, the SHIN-NY would give the treating physician instant access to that patient’s records in order to provide effective treatment.  For patients who live in areas that border several other regions such as the Hudson Valley, the SHIN-NY, will make it easier for all of their providers to access and share the patient’s health records seamlessly.

In addition to improving the quality of care and improving patient safety, creating a statewide network is expected to save hundreds of millions across the state through reduced re-admissions and eliminating redundant tests. For more information about the SHIN-NY, please visit www.nyehealth.org.

About Healthix:
Healthix is a Qualified Entity, devoted to developing, deploying and operating innovative uses of interoperable health information technology and analytics to facilitate patient-centric care for New Yorkers. Healthix was formed through mergers between NYCLIX, LIPIX, and most recently BHIX. The newly merged Healthix expertly delivers health information exchange services, access to clinical data and the tools to support care coordination for over 10 million patients and over 140 participant organizations serving over 500 locations in New York City and Nassau and Suffolk counties.  Please visit www.healthix.org to learn more.

About Oscar:
Oscar is a new kind of health insurance company, designed to put people first. Through a high-tech, data-driven approach, easy-to-understand language and a unique set of benefits, Oscar is drastically changing the way we think about and interact with our health insurance. Founded in 2012, Oscar makes health insurance simple, transparent and human. For more information, visit hioscar.com or holaoscar.com.

About the Brooklyn Health Home:
The Brooklyn Health Home (BHH), led by Maimonides Medical Center, was designated by New York State in December 2011. Its goal is to identify, engage and address the full range of behavioral, medical and social problems affecting thousands of patients with multiple chronic conditions, serious mental illness and/or HIV. The BHH fosters collaboration and the timely exchange of patient information among involved providers and drives measurable improvements in patient engagement and outcomes.

BHH currently serves over 8,000 members who live and/or receive care in Brooklyn.

About New York State Department of Health:
The New York State Department of Health is charged with protecting the health, productivity and wellbeing of all New Yorkers by striving to create healthy communities and ensuring access to quality, evidence-based, cost-effective health services. With a budget of more than $58 billion, the Department regulates more than 200 hospitals and hundreds of other health care facilities; administers the state’s public health insurance programs; oversees more than 80,000 New York state-licensed doctors, administers the state health benefit marketplace, NY State of Health; runs a premier biomedical laboratory; and supports numerous, innovative public health and prevention initiatives.

   

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