Connecticut State Office of Health Strategy
Health Information Alliance
Overview
Connie is ready to connect!
The Office of Health Strategy (OHS) is pleased to announce the statewide health information exchange,
Connie, commences operations on May 3, 2021.
Hospitals, Labs, Providers – Don’t Delay -- Your Participation is Vital
Connecticut’s statewide health information exchange (HIE) was established pursuant to CGS Sec. 17b-59d to empower consumers to make effective health care decisions, promote patient-centered care, improve the quality, safety, and value of health care, reduce waste and duplication of services, support clinical decision-making, keep confidential health information secure and make progress toward the state’s public health goals.
Health Information Alliance, was incorporated as an independent, not-for-profit, neutral, and trusted organization to provide Connecticut’s statewide HIE services, under the brand name Connie.
Commencement and Participation Requirements
What does “connect” and “participate” mean for my organization?
See designation of technologies that constitute Connie here.
How do I apply?
To apply, visit Connie’s website to learn more about Connie and contact the Connie team. Connie will provide an onboarding information package to organizations within 10 days of being contacted through Contact Us Today.
Connie Contact Information
Website: conniect.org
Web Contact: https://conniect.org/contact/
Email: info@conniect.org
Phone: (888) 783-4410
Commencement and Participation Requirements
With this notice of commencement of operations, specific requirements for connecting to Connie go into effect:
- By May 3, 2022, each hospital licensed under chapter 368v and clinical laboratory licensed under section 19a-30 must apply to begin the process of connecting to, and participating in, Connie.
- By May 3, 2023, each health care provider with an electronic health record system must apply to begin the process of connecting to, and participating in, Connie.
What does “connect” and “participate” mean for my organization?
To meet the state’s mandate, an organization is connected when its clinical and demographic information is being sent to Connie. Connie has an onboarding team that will be able to assist you with the required onboarding activities to ensure a successful connection to the network.
What is the process to connect to Connie?
The process includes the following steps, also outlined in the onboarding information package, with anticipated time frames:
- Submit Connie Commitment to Connect Form. Submission of the form to Connie documents an organization’s commitment to begin the process of connecting to the statewide health information exchange.
- Legal Onboarding: The first stage of the onboarding process is legal onboarding. This stage is complete when the appropriate legal agreements are executed (approximately 2 months).
- Technical Onboarding: The second stage of the onboarding process is technical onboarding. This stage is complete when technical activities necessary to facilitate data exchange are complete (approximately 2 months).
- Access Data: The final stage of the onboarding process is accessing data. This stage is complete when the participating organization determines their data viewing preference(s) and completes the associated implementation and training activities to access the data (approximately 2 months).
Connie Technologies
In accordance with CGS Sec. 17b-59d (f) OHS designates the following list of systems, technologies, entities, and programs that constitute the statewide health information exchange at time of commencement of operations. Technical components that support the exchange of patient information are listed below.
Core Component |
Description |
| Master Patient Index | A database that maintains a unique index (or identifier) for every patient whose information has been received by Connie. |
| Provider Directory | A database that links and stores provider demographic information. |
| Integration Engine |
An interoperability platform that receives all connections and moves clinical and demographic data to Connie; provides the capabilities to:
|
| API Gateway | The API Gateway handles API orchestration (including with consent and MPI), throttling, telemetry, and general API security as an external access point to the HIE infrastructure. |
| C-CDA Federator | Federates queries to one or more disparate backend document repositories – whether internal, external, or over national networks |
| FHIR-based Repositories | Use case specific secure data repositories to store minimally necessary, intelligently curated, tagged, clinical, encounter, and care team information to enable efficient queries. |
| Connie Portal | Connie’s secure web-based portal where authorized users may query for patient data. |
|
Connie App (HIE InContext) |
A SMART on FHIR application designed to present HIE data within the context of the provider workflow. The Connie App is initially available for organizations using the Epic, Cerner, or Athena EHRs. |
| Notify | A nationally recognized electronic encounter notification product. |
| DNS Responder Server | Enables Direct subscribers to securely exchange information with other Direct subscribers on the network. |
Connie is integrated with the following qualified nodes:
- CT HealthLink
- eHealth Exchange
- CareQuality
This list will be updated as Connie matures, new use cases are implemented, and new or additional systems, technologies, entities, and programs are deemed necessary to meet the future needs of statewide health information exchange. The availability of HIE features is dependent upon various factors, including the technical capabilities of Connie and participating organizations.