N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority Releases Inaugural Annual Report

The N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority has released its first-ever Annual Report, highlighting the progress we’ve made towards the goals in our Roadmap 2030. This five-year strategic document published in 2025 focused on four overarching goals:

1. Broaden exchange capabilities to support equitable, whole-person care
2. Build upon the HIE foundation to remain at the forefront of data quality and emerging data standards
3. Support value-based care and public health priorities alongside agency and organization partners
4. Cultivate stability by expanding HIE services and their utilization

Here are some highlights of our accomplishments from the past year.

Goal One: Broaden Exchange Capabilities to Support Equitable, Whole-Person Care

NC HIEA prioritized connectivity with state-funded providers, expanded access to services, and incorporated new data sources. Notable achievements include increasing access for behavioral health providers and engaging more Emergency Medical Service providers.

Enable State Laboratory Electronic Test Orders and Results

An Electronic Test Order and Results (ETOR) service replaces manual, paper-based processes with an electronic, closed-loop process and improves timeliness and efficiencies, getting results back to key stakeholders faster. In 2025, NC HIEA initiated the State Laboratory of Public Health ETOR pilot, a modernization effort in which NC HIEA facilitates the routing of electronic test orders and test results between local health departments and two pilot Electronic Health Record systems, Patagonia and CureMD. Since launch, 174 users have registered for the pilot, and 660 orders have been placed – marking significant progress toward full implementation.

Engaging Emergency Medical Service Providers

Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers are often patients’ first point of contact but typically operate with incomplete patient information. In 2025, NC HIEA expanded access to the NC HealthConnex Clinical Portal to over 150 facilities across 50 EMS organizations. Furthermore, NC HIEA partnered with the Office of Emergency Medical Services to identify a path for integrating EMS encounter data into NC HealthConnex, allowing other providers treating the patient to see this critical information.

Goal Two: Remain at the Forefront of Data Quality and Emerging Data Standards

NC HIEA remains committed to providing a secure, modern platform that aligns with evolving healthcare technology policies and standards to seamlessly share data. Through the development of a data quality roadmap, improvements in our patient matching, and exploration of our data governance, NC HIEA ensured we stand at the forefront of data quality standards.

Achieving the Highest National Standard for Clinical Data Quality

NC HIEA achieved a major milestone through the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Data Aggregator Validation program, confirming NC HealthConnex as a single, trusted source of clinical data for payers like NC Medicaid and its prepaid health plans.

Participation doubled from last year, with four organizations and more than 1,400 facilities earning validation after a rigorous, end-to-end evaluation of the quality and integrity of their data and the procedures to manage and safeguard it.

Improvements included new dashboards to monitor message flow and system activity and track trends over time, plus enhanced data quality reports to catch and address issues faster and track data accuracy over time.

Goal Three: Support the Value-Based Care and Public Health Priorities of Our Agency and Organization Partners

NC HIEA advanced data-driven tools and partnerships that strengthen value-based care and public health efforts statewide. Through expanded Medicaid partnership efforts, improved quality measurement capabilities, and enhanced population health surveillance, NC HIEA delivered meaningful support for our agency and organizational partners.

Launching The Payer Claims Database To Improve Care Management

Claims data contain rich information on demographics, diagnoses, procedures, and patient adherence trends, which can help improve patient outcomes and enable care managers to better coordinate follow-up care than clinical data alone. In 2025, NC HIEA and NC Medicaid met a major milestone by making claims data available in the NC HealthConnex Clinical Portal for all users.

This is a first step toward a Payer Claims Database that will house claims and health plan encounters. Centralizing this information is expected to achieve an over 90% reduction in the number of interfaces required for NC Medicaid’s care management data exchange.

Inform Care and Transitions for Justice-Involved Populations

NC HealthConnex is helping ensure care across the continuum for justice-involved populations, including adults and juveniles incarcerated or recently released from jails, youth correctional facilities, or prisons. In 2025, NC HIEA prepared for data linkage between NC HealthConnex and the N.C. Department of Adult Corrections’ Healthcare Electronic Record for Offenders. As of December 2025, 66 users serving justice-involved populations have access to the NC HealthConnex Clinical Portal.

Goal Four: Cultivate Stability by Expanding HIE Services and Their Utilization

NC HealthConnex Training Excellence

NC HIEA offers a comprehensive suite of training options to help providers effectively use the NC HealthConnex Suite of Services – on-demand video modules, live interactive sessions, conference exhibits, and quarterly webinars. In 2025, NC HIEA simplified processes so training can now be scheduled directly via a bookings link. 

NC HIEA also partnered with NC Medicaid and the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) to hold training for over 90 care managers, who gained a deeper understanding of how NC HealthConnex and its services can strengthen their daily work and enhance the delivery of high-quality case management.