Author: Emily Hughes
NC HealthConnex Receiving LabCorp and Quest Test Results
The NC HIEA team has worked diligently to provide health care providers with resources and support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. One of these resources is improved access to laboratory test results. We recently completed the connection to Quest Diagnostics and will soon be receiving results from LabCorp.
These connections will allow participants to access test results through NC HealthConnex, including COVID-19 results. The NC HIEA envisions that the shared data from Quest and LabCorp will provide health care professionals with a more holistic view of their patient’s health status.
How to Get Started
This feature is available to full participants at no cost, however, providers are required to complete a NC Laboratory Results Release Form to allow these laboratories to submit test results for their complete patient population. This form is available at https://hiea.nc.gov/documents/nc-laboratory-results-release-form.
If you are interested in becoming a full participant of NC HealthConnex, please visit https://hiea.nc.gov/providers/how-connect or email hiea@nc.gov.
Questions? Contact the NC HIEA team at hiea@nc.gov.
NC*Notify Service Enhanced
NC HealthConnex is now offering real-time event notifications to participants through its NC*Notify service, giving health care providers more detailed information about patient populations. Additionally, in March of this year the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new notification guidelines for hospitals across North Carolina as part of the Condition of Participation (CoP) requirements for Medicare and Medicaid. This service will help hospital participants meet the CMS CoP requirements and provides timely insights for primary care, behavioral health and other community providers who are instrumental in care coordination for their patients.
“Having access to timely information about when our patients are seen at the hospital is always important to deliver better care. But especially during a public health crisis such as COVID-19, having access to timely notifications when my patients have been admitted or released from the hospital helps our staff schedule important follow up care with our patients,” said Dr. Harriett Burns, associate medical director and primary care provider at Piedmont Health Services Inc., an NC*Notify subscriber, and member of the NC Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA) Advisory Board.
These NC*Notify upgrades are tailored to bridge gaps in the day-to-day operations of health care delivery. Along with near real-time notifications, other new service offerings include:
- Self-service panel loader – This feature offers participants the ability to submit whole patient panels or subsets of entire panels for monitoring.
- Auto attribution – This upgrade automatically generates patient panels based on encounters sent to NC HealthConnex from community providers who have subscribed to the service.
- Multiple notification options (sFTP/DSM) – Participants will have the flexibility to tailor notifications in the way that best meets their needs.
“Based on admission, discharge and transfer data received from more than 100 participating hospitals plus encounter data from more than 6,000 ambulatory care settings, the NC*Notify real-time event notifications provide care teams with valuable information that spans geography and care settings and support state and federal efforts to focus on patient-centered care,” said Christie Burris, executive director for the NC HIEA, the state entity that manages NC HealthConnex.
To learn more about NC*Notify please click here to visit the website and see how it works.
Are You Taking Advantage of Your Connection to NC HealthConnex?
Studies show that use of HIEs within providers’ workflow helps to reduce the cost of health care and improve patient outcomes.
NC HealthConnex is yet another tool to support health care providers better manage and care for their patient populations. Over the last two years the most requested service of the growing NC HealthConnex participant base has been for more training opportunities.
Wait No More!
The N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA) and the N.C. Area Health Education Centers (NC AHEC) kicked off a formal partnership in late 2019 to serve health care providers participating in the state-designated health information exchange, NC HealthConnex.
“The AHEC coaches did a wonderful job making our staff feel at ease while providing all of the information we need to begin utilizing NC HealthConnex,” said a health care provider after AHEC training. “Our practice is in the process of enrolling in NC*Notify so accessing NC HealthConnex will start to become an important part of our daily workflow.”
In addition to in-person and virtual trainings that can be scheduled with any of the nine AHEC regions, NC HIEA and NC AHEC are collaborating to build out a training library of go-at-your-own-pace video modules that will provide NC HealthConnex participants with valuable training and use cases to support adoption and utilization of the state-designated HIE.
- Module 1, NC HealthConnex Overview. Registration is required to receive the link to Module 1. This training will last approximately 12 minutes.
- Module 2, Unpacking the Welcome Packet. Registration is required to receive the link to Module 2. This training will last approximately 10 minutes.
- Module 3, PAA (Participant Account Administrator) Role and Responsibilities. Registration is required to receive the link to Module 3. This training will last approximately 20 minutes.
- Module 4, Clinical Portal Overview. Registration is required to receive the link to Module 4. This training will last approximately 26 minutes.
NC HIEA Calendar of Events
- How to Connect Call – Monday, August 31, at 12 p.m. Interested providers are invited to join a monthly "How to Connect" call to learn about who we are, the state mandate, steps to connect, as well as value-added features.
- NC HIEA Advisory Board Meeting – Wednesday, September 30, at 2 p.m.
For legislative updates and more information about mandated deadlines, please visit our FAQ page.
In the News
COVID-19, Payers and Providers, and the Complex Shift Into Value in This Moment – In our panel on the system-wide shift into value, we asked some very basic questions on what had been learned so far during the COVID-19 pandemic that could help the leaders of patient care organizations going forward, as the U.S. healthcare system attempts collectively to move forward in the ongoing shift from fee-for-service-based payment to value-based, including risk-based, payment. www.hcinnovationgroup.com
Duration of Isolation and Precautions for Adults with COVID-19 – Accumulating evidence supports ending isolation and precautions for persons with COVID-19 using a symptom-based strategy. www.cdc.gov
How the Clinical IT Landscape Has Changed Due to COVID-19: One CMIO’s Viewpoint – Clinicians delivering care in the new COVID-19 shaped-landscape are needing more clinical and resource decision support than ever. This new environment is full of both opportunities and challenges for clinical IT leaders who are generating new learnings every day throughout this unprecedented health crisis. www.hcinnovationgroup.com
Sentara Healthcare, Cone Health Announce Value-Based Care Merger – The integrated health systems’ value-based care merger continues a trend of slow but continued mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2020 despite the pandemic. www.healthpayerintelligence.com
Interoperability Rules Are Delayed: Why That’s Good News And Bad News – In April, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced they would delay the enforcement of its Interoperability and Patient Access Final Rules until 2021. www.forbes.com
NC AHEC Partners with NC DHHS and CCNC to Launch Keeping Kids Well Program – As August marks National Immunizations Awareness Month and the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year for many students and families, ensuring that parents are up-to-date with their child’s vaccinations is paramount. www.ncahec.net