Connecticut State Office of Health Strategy
Health Information Alliance
Overview
Notice of Commencement of Operations
The Office of Health Strategy is pleased to announce the state-wide health information exchange, Connie, commenced operations on May 3, 2021.
Background
The Health Information Alliance was incorporated as an independent, not-for-profit, neutral, and trusted organization to provide Connecticut’s statewide Health Information Exchange (HIE) services, under the brand name Connie.
Connie 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. Connie's operations commenced May 3, 2021.
OHS is the statutorily designated agency with administrative oversight and regulatory authority for Connie.
Commencement and Participation Requirements
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
Commencement and Participation Requirements
Connie commenced operations on May 3, 2021. The following statutory requirements for connecting to Connie went 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.
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 the 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 and FHIR application launched from EHRs designed to present HIE data within the context of the provider workflow. |
| 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. |
The information contained within the table above is current as of 9-6-2023
Connie is integrated with the following qualified nodes:
- CT HealthLink
- eHealth Exchange
- CareQuality
This list will be updated as 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.