HEALTHeLINK, a member of the Buffalo Translational Consortium, is a collaboration among physician, hospital and insurance organizations to share clinical information in efficient and meaningful ways to improve the delivery of care, enhance clinical outcomes and control healthcare costs throughout the region. Chief among its resources for investigators is the HEALTHeWNY Dashboard. This comprehensive, publicly accessible, interactive platform is designed to provide real-time data and insights into the health status of the Western New York community.

Karen Craik, EdD, MHA, is HEALTHeLINK’s Senior Advisor, Regional Health Improvement. As she explains, HEALTHeWNY helps public health leaders identify high-risk populations, allowing for targeted interventions and prevention strategies by narrowing in by ZIP Code: “By working together and utilizing this data, local organizations can pinpoint areas of need, develop focused interventions, enhance collaboration, and improve community health outcomes.

“HEALTHeLINK has been a great resource for clinicians in the community, and the HEALTHeWNY dashboard represents a significant advancement for BTC investigators,” says University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Director Sanjay Sethi, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “The dashboard can facilitate targeting research to populations in whom it could have the best chance of positive results.”

Here, Craik discusses what makes the dashboard so groundbreaking, how researchers can make use of it, and its impact on public health.

What makes the dashboard unique? And how does it represent an evolution in the use of public health data locally?

The HEALTHeWNY dashboard stands out as a groundbreaking tool in the world of public health for Western New York. It is the culmination of years of collaborative work led by the Population Health Collaborative (PHC), which previously developed the LiveWell WNY initiative. That initiative was rooted in the nationally recognized 3-4-50 framework from San Diego, highlighting that three behaviors (poor diet, physical inactivity, and tobacco use) lead to four chronic conditions, which account for over 50% of deaths. This framework laid the foundation for a data-driven approach to improving community health.

In 2022, PHC merged with HEALTHeLINK, combining PHC’s regional health improvement expertise with HEALTHeLINK’s robust clinical data infrastructure. This strategic merger enabled the creation of the HEALTHeWNY dashboard — a dynamic, interactive platform that integrates clinical, behavioral, and social determinants of health data in one place. There is currently no other platform in Western New York that offers this level of integration, accessibility, and actionable insight and using clinical and claims data. It sets a new standard for how public health data can be used to drive change locally.

How does the data found in the dashboard get updated, and how frequently does this occur?

The HEALTHeWNY dashboard is powered by clinical data from electronic health records, provided through HEALTHeLINK, Western New York’s regional health information organization and claims data from health plans. This data is refreshed annually, ensuring consistency and reliability across measures.

What are some of the ways in which Buffalo Translational Consortium researchers can use the dashboard for their work?

Researchers can use the dashboard to uncover patterns, monitor trends, and identify disparities across populations, making it a powerful tool for data-driven decision-making. Professors at the University at Buffalo are already integrating the dashboard into their public health courses to help students explore inequities and understand how data informs policy, programs, and practice. It is a resource in academia for training the next generation of public health leaders.

What is important for the public to know about the dashboard?

Powered by HEALTHeLINK’s clinical data, payer claims data, and enriched with local health indicators, the dashboard provides a comprehensive, real-time view of population health. Unlike traditional reports, this interactive tool allows users to explore neighborhood-level data, visualize disparities, and compare health metrics across communities. Whether you are a policymaker, nonprofit leader, educator, or concerned resident, the dashboard empowers you to identify needs and propose targeted solutions, making data not just accessible, but actionable.

How can researchers best get started on using the dashboard?

The dashboard is free to use and access; visit healthewny.com to get started. Researchers can always reach out to our Population Health team at HEALTHeLINK by writing to pophealth@wnyhealthelink.com with any questions or if they would like an overview of the dashboard.