What is the state mandate?  

The Connecticut legislature intended Connie to empower consumers to make effective health care decisions. The mandate in the enabling legislation requires that all healthcare providers contribute data to Connie so they can provide a complete patient medical record across all healthcare provider settings. By providing that complete medical record, Connie can meet all of the goals the legislature outlined including promoting patient-centered care, improving the quality, safety, and value of health care, reducing waste and duplication, and helping the state make progress towards its public health goals. 

To review the mandate and full statutory requirement for Connecticut providers, please see C.G.S.A § 17b-59e. 

Who needs to meet the state mandate? 

Any individual, corporation, facility, or institution licensed by the state to provide health care services is subject to the mandate and should apply as soon as possible to begin the process of connecting to and participating with Connie. This includes primary care and specialty physician practices, pharmacies, labs, and skilled nursing facilities. 

 When does the state mandate require us to be connected? 

All licensed healthcare providers in the state of Connecticut are required to begin connecting with Connie by May 3rd, 2023.  

What can I do to meet the mandate?  

To meet the mandate, you will need to begin your connection with Connie. You can start this process by completing the Commitment to Connect Form, which affirms your organization’s good faith commitment to start the onboarding process.  

 What does it mean to “meet” the mandate? 

Meeting the mandate means any individual, corporation, facility or institution licensed by the state to provide health care services must apply to begin the process of connecting to and participating with Connie.

Who, or what, is Connie? 

Connie is Connecticut’s state-designated Health Information Exchange. Connie is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides health information technology that allows for the secure and efficient exchange of clinical data. Connie is mandated to meet many goals, including providing access to patient health information and complete medical records across all healthcare settings.  

Connie’s services will empower consumers to make effective healthcare decisions and promote patient-centered care. They also improve the quality, safety, and value of healthcare, while reducing the waste and duplication of services. Connie will support clinical decision-making, keep patient medical health information confidential and secure, and advance the state’s public health goals. 

What does it mean to be “Connected”?                                   

Connecting with Connie means sharing your patients’ demographic and clinical data.

Will Connie help me to connect?  

Once the Commitment to Connect form is filled, Connie will assign your organization an account manager that will collaborate with you for the next 4 steps of onboarding. Connie has a dedicated team of regional account managers to help you with anything from basic questions about Connie to answering technical questions during your connection process.

How long will it take to get connected? 

Organizations with an electronic medical record (EMR) system will connect with Connie via the EMR, while those without an EMR can meet the mandate by making sure they have a Direct email address. (Connie can help you do that too). Currently, Connie is integrated with several EMRs including Cerner, Athena, and Epic, and are actively adding more! To see an updated list of connected EMRs, check out Connie’s EMR Dashboard. 

The amount of time it takes to complete your connection to Connie varies based on your EMR, your technical integration capabilities, and when you get in the queue. The process may be faster if your organization’s EMR is already connected. You can start the process today by filling out a Commitment to Connect form, which affirms your organization’s good faith commitment to begin the onboarding process. 

Has anyone else connected with Connie? 

When you connect with Connie, you are in good company with fellow healthcare providers and organizations! Check out the Connected Organizations dashboard to see a list of healthcare organizations that have already joined, including 600+ organizations representing 4+ million patients.

Just a few of our community participants include: 

• Yale New Haven Health 
• UCONN Health 
• Bristol Health 
• Nuvance Health 
• ProHealth Physicians 
• Middlesex Health
• Hartford Healthcare
• Trinity Health of New England
• Masonicare  

What can Connie do for your organization? 

Connie’s primary role is to support providers through seamless interoperability and connect them with their many services. Some of those services include: 

• Enabling better sharing of clinical information across all healthcare settings.  
• Supporting care coordination among health care teams. 
• Reducing preventable costs associated with readmissions, duplicative testing and errors.  
• Supporting public health reporting, research and population health analytics.  
• Adherence to and promotion of standards and interoperability.  
• COMING SOON: Patient access to their own health information.  

Connie’s mission is to work with all healthcare stakeholders to start connecting by May 3, 2023, so your organization can remain in compliance with the state mandate and begin utilizing the many services they offer.

Michele Krpata, BSW, CPC, CPMA

Compliance Officer, Quality Reporting Analyst