Project Title: CT Health Center Controlled Network Organization Name: Community Health Center Association of Connecticut, Inc. Address: 1484 Highland Avenue, Suite 2 & 3, Cheshire CT, 06410-1268 Project Director: Michael McLean Phone: 860-667-7820 Email: mmclean@chcact.org Website: www.chcact.org Funds Requested: $625,000 Introduction: The Community Health Center Association of Connecticut, Inc. (CHCACT) is the lead agency for an existing Health Center Controlled Network (HCCN) serving fourteen participating Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and one look-alike. The fifteen participating health centers provide service to 270,000 patients across 95 delivery sites throughout Connecticut. During the current program period, CT-HCCN has focused on the value of data, ensuring member health centers recognize the need to improve the quality of their data and the utilization of that data in clinical and operational decision-making processes. CT-HCCN future goals are: a) improve clinical performance through use of health information technology systems including the CT-HCCN data warehouse, newly formed health information exchange services, and population health analytics tools; b) generate operational improvement in areas of patient engagement and retention by leveraging reporting capabilities from the data warehouse; c) increase confidence in data quality by identifying opportunities for improvement in both clinical and operational data capture workflows; and d) facilitate sharing of data across disparate systems including participation in data aggregation programs sponsored by the Health Information Technology Officer for the State of Connecticut. Need: Member agencies struggle with resources and technical capabilities to assist in the extraction of clinical and operational data from their electronic health record systems. They would also benefit from technical assistance to improve data capture workflows, implement population health
tools, and manage the sharing of clinical data across multiple systems. Without support from CT-HCCN, they would place their patient population at a disadvantage by not fully participating in clinical data sharing, population health analytics, performance reporting, and other quality improvement efforts designed to improve outcomes and reduce the burden on providers. Services: The CT-HCCN will provide the following services: 1) data extraction and transmission support to the data warehouse and to health information exchange services to facilitate interoperability; 2) robust data reporting on both clinical and operational measures to assess opportunities for improvement, conduct peer comparisons, and to identify data quality issues that need to be remedied; 3) provide technical assistance to enhance data capture workflows, fully engage population health analytics tools, and support other health information technology issues as needed. Target population: The service area for the CT-HCCN covers the entire State of Connecticut with a concentration in the state’s major cities. The CT-HCCN predominately serves an at-risk population comprised of low income, recipients of Medicaid, and those without insurance which include minority populations, immigrants and refugees, and individuals and families who experience homelessness. Outcomes: The CT-HCCN will positively impact the lives of over 150,000 Medicaid patients who utilize the services of member health centers through the following metrics: a) interoperability – all 15 health centers are participating in a data-sharing arrangement with state health information exchange; b) data quality – all health centers are receiving monthly reports on data quality metrics; and c) provider burden reduction – all providers employed by member health centers have access to population health analytics tools in addition to clinical and operational reporting to enhance their ability to deliver care.