The LINK                                 September 2016/Issue 26
Adoption
Percent of WNY practices who participate with HEALTHeLINK: 89.5 %

Total number of patient consent forms signed: 853,651

Total results available through HEALTHeLINK: Over 208 million

Total number of patient record look up queries in HEALTHeLINK from January - August 2016: More than 1.3 million

Total number of practices with EMRs connected to HEALTHeLINK: 345
Data Sources
For a complete listing of data sources and participating practices, click here !
Top 15 Patient Data Query Users
1. Dent Neurologic Institute
2. WNY Urology
3. Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center Primary Care Centers
4. Kaleida Health System
5. Catholic Health System
6. Nephrology Associates of WNY
7. Landmark Medical
8. Buffalo Health Group
9. Upstate New York Transplant Services
10. Roswell Park Cancer Institute
11. ECMC
12. David Avino, MD
13. Gastroenterology Associates
14. UB Neurosurgery
15. Windsong Radiology
HEALTHeLINK Functionality: Did you know?
HEALTHeLINK offers alert notifications which allow participating practices and care coordination networks to receive immediate notifications on care transitions (admit and discharges) for consented patients they wish to track. In order for you to receive alerts on a consented patient, he or she must first be linked to a provider within your organization. In addition each provider wishing to get alerted on specific patients in your practice must complete the alert notification attestation. If you're ready to put HEALTHeLINK's alert notification to work for your practice, contact your HEALTHeLINK account manager.
Thank You Ralph Yorio!
Ralph Yorio, past chair of the HEALTHeLINK Advisory Council, represented small business and the manufacturing community on the council. His involvement with the health care community dates back over a decade - prior to the formalization of HEALTHeLINK as an organization in 2006.

HEALTHeLINK recently presented Ralph with a plaque expressing our appreciation for his work upon his retirement from the council. The inscription on the plaque reads: " The Board of Directors and Staff of HEALTHeLINK offer their gratitude and thanks to Ralph Yorio for his many years of dedicated service and passionate support of the HEALTHeLINK mission to improve the quality and lower the cost of health care for the Western York community."
THANK YOU, Ralph! You have been a huge part of our success to date and have helped to lay the foundation for our continued success in support of our mission.
HEALTHeLINK Medical Minute
HEALTHeLINK's Medical Minutes continue to air Wednesdays during the 10 p.m. newscast on Fox 29. Several members of the medical community have already highlighted value and benefits of clinical information exchange including Dr. Peter Winkelstein, Kaleida Health, Dr. Anthony Billittier, ECMC & Millennium Collaborative Care, Dr. Gale Burstein, Erie County Department of Health, Dr. Thomas Foels, Independent Health, Dr. Richard Elman, Catholic Health System, Dr. Everett Weiss, Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Dr. Raghu Ram, Landmark Health. Check our website for all of the previously aired Medical Minutes.
Introducing the HEALTHeLINK PMO
In order to maintain success and foster growth, organizations today must be ready to design and implement changes swiftly and accurately. This is especially true with technology, and for health information exchanges, technology is the core of their business. Enter the PMO. HEALTHeLINK's newly established Project Management Office coordinates the development, implementation and utilization of a common project management methodology. This creates a repeatable approach to managing projects which focuses on consistency and operational efficiencies. Since its 2015 inception, the PMO has become a value added part of the organization through implementation of the following:
  • Project lifecycle workflows with sponsor approval and transition requirements
  • Standard project management templates and tools
  • Streamlined reporting and portfolio management
  • Testing and issue management strategy
With a solid foundation, continuous quality improvement and dedicated project managers, the HEALTHeLINK PMO provides the necessary support to help this organization be a change agent, leading HIE's to the next level of health care interoperability.
HEALTHeLINK services available to all participating practices

Patient Record Look Up - Search results from any HEALTHeLINK data source on consented patients. This includes medication history and information from other Health Information Exchanges throughout New York State via the State Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY).

 

Results Delivery - Have results from tests your practice has ordered or been cc'd delivered directly into your EMR.

 

Alert Notifications - Be notified real time of your patients' admissions (including ED visits) or discharges from WNY hospitals.

 

Upload of Data - Submit patient data from your EMR to HEALTHeLINK to help reduce calls to your office for patient records. This data could also be used to satisfy HEDIS and other quality reporting requirements. In addition, your practice could be eligible for NYS Data Exchange Incentive dollars if you are a Medicaid MU eligible provider/practice.

 

For more information on any of these services, please contact HEALTHeLINK at (716) 206-0993 ext. 105.
Team HEALTHeLINK at the Corporate Challenge
Team HEALTHeLINK at the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge on June 23!
Staff volunteers for Day of Caring
HEALTHeLINK staff volunteered at the Northwest Buffalo Community Center on August 17 as part of the annual United Way of Buffalo & Erie County's Day of Caring. 
HEALTHeLINK in the News
Business First - More patients across NYS opt-in to shared electronic records
Resources

   


Proud to be part of the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY)