When CINs work with HIEs, the power of collaboration becomes even clearer.

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, USA, July 6, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Anchorage, Alaska: It?s no secret that the American healthcare system is fragmented, and all too often attempts to make things work better end up making them worse. Collaboration is one way for individual organizations to make headway. Clinically integrated networks (CINs), which are organized groups of practices that agree to share information and work toward common goals, are one type of collaboration that can ease some of the difficulties that are a result of fragmentation. When CINs work with healthcare information exchanges (HIEs), the power of collaboration becomes even clearer.

Gene Quinn, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer of Envoy Integrated Health, says that one of the most important aspects of the collaboration between Envoy and healtheConnect is how well the two organizations are conceptually aligned. Envoy formed with the goal of improving the health of Alaskans, and healtheConnect Alaska is a neutral organization where the goal is to serve the needs of the healthcare community, without a financial interest in how the data they exchange is used. ?Having an HIE that shared our goal of improving public health rather than focusing on the business of medicine was important to us,? Dr. Quinn says.

According to Dr. Quinn, as Envoy began considering the IT options available to a CIN a few choices emerged. ?You can do your own thing and create your own IT structure,? he says, adding that many CINs choose that route, but it often leads to making patient data proprietary and into a commodity. ?The option that aligns with the values and purpose of Envoy is having a neutral partner that doesn?t monetize the data. It?s about making the information available to improve patient care, not creating profits.?

Dr. Quinn believes that healtheConnect is the solution for some of the problems that result from the fragmentation in the field of healthcare IT. ?Physicians in Alaska are very independent,? he says. ?No one wants to commit to anything that could get between doctors and their patients. One reason that the partnership between Envoy Integrated Health and healtheConnect is important is that it allows physician groups to remain independent, but still collaborate to achieve goals together? states Dr. Quinn.

?Our partnership with Envoy is critical to the future of HIE as health data utility and allows us to expand capabilities of the Envoy provider network through effective data sharing,? says Laura Young, Executive Director for healtheConnect Alaska. She stated that Envoy will be able to leverage HIE infrastructure and data along with CIN data to meet quality measures and empower care navigators.

Dr. Quinn and Laura Young hope that this partnership will demonstrate how health information exchanges and clinically integrated networks can achieve excellent results for physicians and patients alike, paving the way for value-based care in Alaska.

About Envoy Integrated Health
Envoy is a coalition of independent Alaska physicians, whose members collaborate around shared goals of providing quality care, improving overall population health, and shifting the healthcare system to prioritize value and quality rather than just quantity. Envoy?s goal is to help providers remain competitive and committed to both the patient and provider experience, as well as, improve the overall health of the community they serve.

About healtheConnect Alaska
healtheConnect Alaska was established to improve the health and welfare of the Alaskan community through the secure sharing of health information. healtheConnect Alaska is an unbiased, non-profit organization, entrusted by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services to implement services and technologies to ensure that providers have access to critical healthcare information to foster the best possible patient outcomes.

Laura Young
healtheConnect Alaska
+1 907-770-2626
email us here
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter