Collaborating to Provide Better Care: Immunizations
HealtheConnections facilitates Kinney Drugs automated submissions to NYSIIS.
Beginning in early 2018, HealtheConnections and Kinney Drugs have worked together to bring a new feature to their pharmacists. They are now able to automatically submit immunization records to the New York State Immunization System (NYSIIS) through HealtheConnections, the health information exchange (HIE).
HealtheConnections has been connected with NYSIIS for the last few years, bringing immunization information to providers treating patients in the 11 counties of Central New York that make up our service area. NYSIIS was built to house complete, accurate, secure, real-time immunization records for the state, and as a part of the HIE, providers can access these records when treating their patients to have a comprehensive understanding of their health needs. It was the natural connection to assist Kinney Drugs, who is already contributing to the HIE, to contribute directly to NYSIIS.
By implementing this direct connection, HealtheConnections and Kinney Drugs are eliminating the need for manual entry, saving their pharmacists time by automating a previously tedious task. Kinney Drugs is the 4th largest chain drug retailer in the United States, and through this advancement, hundreds of pharmacists, their staff, and their patients will reap the benefits.
This work builds upon a previous collaboration that keeps pharmacists and physicians informed through a Medication Adherence alert, sent to the authorized parties if a patient has not picked up a critical medication at the appropriate time, allowing for better care management and medical intervention if necessary. Both companies have clearly demonstrated a history of innovation in health information technology, and future enhancements surrounding pharmaceutical data and HIE connections remain an exciting possibility.
To learn more about HealtheConnections and our work, we invite you to visit our website at healtheconnections.org.
