The LINK                                 December 2017/Issue 31
Adoption
Percent of WNY practices who participate with HEALTHeLINK:  85%

Total number of patient consent forms signed: 1,034,115

Total results available through HEALTHeLINK: Over 211 million

Total number of patient record look up queries in HEALTHeLINK from January - November 2017: 2,349,487

Total number of practices sending data to HEALTHeLINK from their EMR: 216

Total number of practices getting results delivered from HEALTHeLINK into their EMR:  377
New Data Sources
Advanced Allergy and Asthma Care of WNY 
Amherst Medical Associates
Brooks Memorial Hospital
Carlos Martinez MD
Family Care Physicians
Genesee County Mental Health 
Gordon Tussing MD
J and E Medical
Jaffri Medical Associates
Krempa Medical Associates LLP 
Lakeshore Home Health 
Lakeshore Hospital
Maple Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
NIAGARA WOMENS HEALTH
Nora Meaney-Elman
Oishei Childrens Hospital
Oishei Childrens Hospital Clinics
Quaker Medical Associates
Rapha Family Medicine
Thomas Dougherty MD
UBMD Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

For a complete listing of data sources and participating practices, click here!
Top Users of HEALTHeLINK's Patient Record Look-up
Hospital Users
  1. Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center
  2. Kaleida Health System
  3. Catholic Health System
  4. Erie County Medical Center
  5. Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Physician Practice Users
  1. Dent Neurologic Institute
  2. General Physicians
  3. WNY Urology
  4. UB Neurosurgery
  5. UBMD Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
  6. Landmark Health
  7. Trinity Medical Cardiology
  8. Nephrology Associates of WNY 
  9. Gastroenterology Associates
  10. Windsong Radiology Group
Other Participant Type Users
  1. UNYTS
  2. Health Home Partners of WNY
  3. Erie County DOH
  4. Greater Buffalo United Accountable Health Network
Looking back on 2017
Consumer survey finds strong support of sharing and utilization of HIE
HEALTHeLINK recently announced results from a consumer survey conducted in September 2017 across the eight-county region. The survey was conducted by phone with 1,000 completed surveys providing a confidence level of 95%.
 
Among the highlights from the survey:
  • 87% believe the health system is providing a "high" level of care
  • 86% believe that the health care system is "generally safe"
  • 82% believe that electronic access to patient data is "good" for health care
  • 90% of respondents were "aware" that their health care information was being electronically shared
  • 81% of respondents are "willing to encourage" their doctor to use HEALTHeLINK
"We are very encouraged by these results as they demonstrate that HEALTHeLINK is working," said Dan Porreca, HEALTHeLINK's executive director. "At the same time, it is incumbent on us to continue our efforts and delivering value to the region's health care system and educating the community, including providers and medical staff, about that value to promote even greater use."
 
For a summary of the survey results click here.
Study quantifies benefits for ECDOH when using HEALTHeLINK
Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) and HEALTHeLINK, in cooperation with RTI International, quantified the benefits of using health information exchange for demographic, laboratory, and treatment information for sexually transmitted infections, specifically chlamydia and gonorrhea cases, in Erie County. The 2012 results, which were recently published in Health Information Management Journal , highlight the time savings associated with HEALTHeLINK usage, which led to improved productivity. ECDOH was able to expand its area of disease investigation without any increase in work hours or budget, and expand disease control and partner services to additional residents who may have been missed prior to HEALTHeLINK use. 
Data quality scorecards coming to practices in 2018
The quality of patient information that is accessed via HEALTHeLINK is dependent upon the quality and completeness of the information that is received from data sources and practices. To improve the quality of data, HEALTHeLINK is in the midst of launching scorecards which will contain information about the types and quality of the data that participating data sources and practices are providing to HEALTHeLINK. Knowledge of where data gaps and quality issues exist is the key to ensuring that all necessary patient information, both clinical and non-clinical, is available in the exchange. HEALTHeLINK is currently meeting with its hospital data sources to review their scorecards and will begin piloting practice scorecards in early January. Should you have any further questions about this initiative, please contact your HEALTHeLINK account manager or call 716-206-0993. 
Porreca elected chair of SHIEC board
HEALTHeLINK Executive Director Dan Porreca was elected chair of the 2017-18 board of directors for the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative (SHIEC). HEALTHeLINK is a founding member of SHIEC and Porreca has served on its board of directors since 2014, most recently as vice chair.  

Advanced Primary Care program
Are you prepared for Medicare's Quality Payment Programs? If you are a small- to medium-sized primary care practice in Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming, Allegany or Cattaraugus counties, you can receive FREE transformation services through the new Advanced Primary Care program. Services are provided by Strategic Interests LLC on behalf of New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) and include preparation for value-based payment models and access to subject-matter experts in PCMH, CPC+, MIPS Strategy and Revenue Management.  For more information or to enroll, call 585-797-2360, email  [email protected] or visit their website.   

Policy revisions
Please note that revisions to the HEALTHeLINK Privacy and Security Policies became effective November 27. In addition, HEALTHeLINK also revised the Participation Agreement Terms & Conditions and Business Associate Agreement. Visit our website to view the changes and most recent versions. 
HEALTHeLINK Medical Minutes
The HEALTHeLINK Medical Minutes continue to air Wednesdays on Fox 29 during the 10 p.m. newscast. Recent minutes that have aired include:
HEALTHeLINK in the News
What people are saying about HEALTHeLINK
Hear firsthand from various local health care leaders about the value and benefits of health information exchange in Western New York with the HEALTHeLINK Medical Minute. http://wnyhealthelink.com/WhatWeDo/MedicalMinutes  
Resources

   


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

Proud member of SHIEC (Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative)