September 21, 2023 – HEALTHeLINK, the health information exchange for Western New York, announced today it is the Phase 3 third place winner out of more than 130 initial applicants of the Building Bridges to Better Health: A Primary Health Care Challenge sponsored by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). The goal of this multi-phase challenge was to enhance access and care coordination to achieve better health and reduce disparities utilizing technical assistance solutions.
To advance health equity and specifically support Federally Qualified Health Centers, HEALTHeLINK built HEALTHeQUALITY, an innovative solution that brings together clinical and Health Related Social Needs data to enable the identification of gaps in care to assist Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and other health care organizations. HEALTHeLINK worked with The Chautauqua Center, Jericho Road Community Health Center, and Universal Primary Care to utilize HEALTHeQUALITY to bridge the gap between clinical care and social concerns that act as barriers to care.
“By utilizing comprehensive data analytics, we’ve demonstrated how HEALTHeQUALITY can assist FQHCs in closing care gaps and reducing health disparities,” said Dan Porreca, president and CEO, HEALTHeLINK. “Having the functionality to electronically monitor things like patients’ chronic disease management measures and cancer screenings, community health center providers and staff can save time and proactively follow up with patients to ensure these tests are completed. We are honored to have been recognized by HRSA for our HEALTHeQUALITY solution.”
As a result of using HEALTHeQUALITY to monitor these tests, The Chautauqua Center, Jericho Road Community Health Center, and Universal Primary Care all saw increases in breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening rates, as well as improved hypertension and diabetes management among their patients. Staff also reported increased productivity and improved quality of care.
HEALTHeLINK announced this spring it had made it past Phase 2 of the challenge. HRSA selected HEALTHeLINK as the third place Phase 3 winner out of eight final award winners. HEALTHeLINK was awarded a $65,000 prize for Phase 3, which when combined with its prizes from Phase 1 and Phase 2, brings the total HRSA award to $96,111.
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About HEALTHeLINK
HEALTHeLINK serves as a resource for broad health system transformation through secure data-informed decision making for individual patient care and to support community investments with a purpose of improving health, health care, and collaboration with local health care providers and those who are connected via the Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY) to improve health outcomes and health care delivery, control costs, increase access to care, and improve health equity in Western New York. HEALTHeLINK is also a founding member of Civitas Networks for Health, a national collaborative working to use health information exchange to improve health. Providers and patients can visit wnyhealthelink.com or @HEALTHeLINK on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn for more information.