2025 letter to the community
"Our next steps are clear: honor the foundation we've built while embracing new technologies and partnerships that are redefining our industry."
To our participants, partners, and stakeholders,
It is a privilege to address you for the first time as the President and Chief Executive Officer of HealtheConnections. Stepping into this role, I am deeply aware of the legacy of success and community impact that has been built over the years. It is with great respect that I acknowledge the hard work and innovation that have solidified our position in this field and share my commitment to uphold those values.
HealtheConnections has long been a leader in health information exchange (HIE) and technology solutions, and it is not the first time that we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in this industry.
The intersection of health and technology is evolving rapidly, and as we navigate this changing landscape, we must stay agile and responsive to the needs of our participants and the communities we serve. The demands of modern healthcare—along with advancements in digital health, data analytics, and patient-centered care—require us to be more adaptable than ever.
This past year, we prioritized the projects and partnerships that support that next level of maturity in data-centric services, leading technology solutions, community and public health support, and the ongoing sustainability of our operations. These are the continuations of strategic, multi-faceted, multi-year initiatives to bring HIE and data analytics into the next era. We’re renewing our commitment to not only maintaining the important work that has brought us here but also taking bold steps that will fuel our evolution.
Implementing a data-centric operating model and innovative new HIE system.
We’re driving innovation with new technology and tools that will deliver unique value to customers, laying the groundwork for future growth of our HIE and value-add services.
2024 Accomplishments:
- Designed and built a brand-new, proprietary HIE platform
- Cloud-based infrastructure using the most up-to-date technology
- User-friendly interface that emphasizes speed and accuracy
- Back-end design and administrative functions for optimal customer and technical support capabilities
- Completed in-depth data validation for ___ data feeds representing 2,600 office locations, verifying quality and completeness for our 2025 launch.
The Next Phase:
With new infrastructure, forward-thinking data strategies, and user-friendly interfaces, we’ll generate new possibilities for data-centric services for our customers.
- Finalize data migration and implement structures to persistently monitor and refine data quality practices to meet or exceed emerging standards.
- Complete rigorous testing and successfully launch the platform.
- Onboard all 1,500 participating organizations and their thousands of users to the new system with high levels of customer support and satisfaction.
- Explore opportunities for growth and diversified revenue streams through product and service innovation, engaging health plans, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Independent Practice Associations (IPAs), and industry partners nationwide.
Supporting public health initiatives and health departments at state and local levels.
HIE data is a powerful asset in advancing public health alongside state, regional and local partners. We're supporting local health departments (LHDs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) with the tools and resources needed to make a positive impact for public health surveillance, evaluation and enhancement.
2024 Accomplishments:
- Utilized HIE data to identify syphilis during pregnancy, the first effort of its kind developed with the Orange County Health Department
- Developed Population-level Emergency Department Reports by County, alongside SHIN-NY partners, providing up-to-date data that can be used to inform and refine public health strategies
- Established partnership with Inclusive Alliance to begin education and outreach efforts to CBOs, to explore data needs for their organizations, planning for new reports and dashboards
- Convened workgroup of LHDs to assess availability and completeness of maternal health data, to be used to inform development of interactive reports
The Next Phase:
We’re actively engaged with LHDs and CBOs to unlock the potential of clinical data to:
- Help identify and address population level trends, risk factors and disparities
- Build reports, provide technical advisory services, data tracking tools, and care coordination support
- Strategize, assess feasibility, and test assumptions to support public health research
Joint efforts with state & regional partners to advance interoperability and health improvement goals.
HealtheConnections works in close collaboration with our state and community partners to reach shared goals, relying on cutting-edge data strategies and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). We advanced interoperability capabilities and bridged clinical-community gaps through 2024, setting the stage for continued efforts in 2025.
2024 Accomplishments:
- Creation and launch of the SHIN-NY Public Health Data Lake
- Participated in statewide workgroups to provide guidance and establish frameworks to stand up the data lake
- Met all requirements for data contribution including real-time Master Patient Index (MPI), Admission, Discharge, and Transfer (ADT), Lab, Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN) data, and more
- 1115 Medicaid Waiver advancements in collection and sharing of Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN) data
- Selected by 3 Social Care Networks (SCNs) to support the HRSN data needs of their networks alongside Unite Us
- Developed flexible and adaptive approaches to taking in HRSN data from multiple sources
- Enhanced internal and user-facing tools and systems for sharing and accessing HRSN data
The Next Phase:
These approaches are revolutionizing health IT and open new opportunities to improve outcomes, a core tenet of HealtheConnections’ mission. As the landscape of health care continues to advance, we’ll support:
- Statewide initiatives, including statewide alerting, consent registry, and common participation agreement efforts executed by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the SHIN-NY
- Medicaid 1115 Waiver advancements, with a focus on helping providers and community-based organizations to collect, share, and use HRSN data
Continuing to enhance HIE, customer advisory, and support services.
Delivering best-in-class HIE services has been, and will continue to be, central to our mission. We’re committed to helping our participants enhance patient care, support patient safety, drive operational efficiencies, and improve the health of our communities through technical services and support.
2024 Accomplishments:
- Maintained service delivery for 1,500+ health and care organizations across 4,600 office locations
- Facilitated the secure access and sharing of millions of records each month, including
- 9 million clinical documents received
- 465,000 results delivered
- 16 million clinical alerts exchanged
- 300,000 image studies received
- Upgraded and refined customer relationship management (CRM) ticketing system to reduce response times and increase accuracy
- Modernized customer-facing interactions with webforms, automated features, and optimized internal procedures for efficiency while maintaining a high level of personalized service
- Managed and fulfilled high-volume customer requests, account setup and modification requests, new project launches, and direct customer support
Maintaining our strong position in security, compliance, and finance.
Upholding the highest levels of information security, meeting compliance requirements, and maintaining a strong financial position are the foundations of our operations – they are always a priority.
2024 Accomplishments:
- Maintained certification with no corrective actions from our full HITRUST security program assessment.
- Maintained certification with no corrective actions for SHIN-NY certification and Section 508 compliance requirements.
- Achieved 2024 financial plan and a clean 2023 audit.
The Next Phase:
- Contracting with a leading security firm to continually refine our cybersecurity program.
- Upgrade internal IT tools and structures for productivity, efficiency, and agility.
- Continually refine our procedures to meet and exceed SHIN-NY requirements and best practices.
The simple path to success is through embracing change and the opportunities it brings.
We are passionate about this work. We care about great results, and we are well-positioned to deliver them into 2025 and beyond.
Leaning on the deep experience and creativity within our team, we will continue to provide the high-quality, agile solutions HealtheConnections is known for, elevated to meet the needs of this next chapter.
Thank you for your ongoing trust and support as we move forward together.
With gratitude,
Elizabeth Amato
President & CEO
Special thanks to our Board of Directors for continued guidance, support, and leadership.
Officers:
Paul Kaye, MD - Chairperson
EVP for Practice Transformation
Sun River Health
Seth Kronenberg, MD - Vice Chair
President & CEO
Crouse Health
Robert Weisenthal, MD - Vice Chair
Ophthalmologist
CNY Eye Care,
Clinical Professor
Department of Ophthalmology
Upstate Medical University
Patricia Hale, MD, PhD, FACP, FHIMSS - Secretary
Consultant in Clinical Informatics
Martin Stallone, MD - Treasurer
Chief Executive Officer
Centralus Health and Cayuga Health
Board Members:
Kathryn Anderson, MD, PhD
Commissioner of Health
Onondaga County
Marissa Barbieri
CEO/Founder
Competitive Solutions, Inc.
Eric Brosius
Vice President, Technology Services
Sun River Health
Kara Hines, DNP, RN, CHCIO
Associate Vice President, IT
Associate Chief Information Officer
United Health Services (UHS)
Joseph R. Maldonado, MD, MSc, MBA
Physician
Mark Muthumbi
Commercial Market Leader
Regional President CNY/ST
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield
David Page, MD
Physician
Judith Watson, RN, BSN, MPH
Chief Executive Officer
Westchester Community Health Center
Bruce Wood
Partner
Lippes Mathias
Corey Zeigler
Chief Information Officer
Helio Health
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