EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A person’s healthcare experience extends beyond traditional settings and for some Minnesotans that includes working with community–based behavioral health providers along with traditional health systems. Minnesota Community Healthcare Network (MCHN), an alliance of behavioral health organizations (Canvas Health, Guild Incorporated, Mental Health Resource, RESOURCE, INC., and Touchstone Mental Health) is on its way to establishing interoperability amongst its five members to enable care teams and clients to share health care information in real time.
Through the Minnesota Accountable Health e-Health Initiative, and in partnership with Hennepin County Medical Center and Hennepin Health, MCHN created the “Mission Hennepin Community Collaborative” with the goal of using health information exchange to support communication and care coordination between MCHN members and the Hennepin Health System. To support this initiative, MCHN received State Innovation Model (SIM) grant funds through the Minnesota Department of Health for this project. This funding is part of a $45 million SIM testing grant jointly received by the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Human Services in 2013 from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to help implement the Minnesota Accountable Health Model.
Beyond funding, MCHN needed to address the complexity inherent in bringing together clinical data at scale, including the ability to manage consent, security and establishing interoperability across its members’ different IT environments. “Having access to an individual’s complete health record during an ED visit or other point of care can make a difference in decisions made by practitioners and clients,” says Grace Tangjerd Schmitt, Chair, MCHN. “This new capability will provide individuals and care teams with the information they need—helping them to integrate and coordinate services appropriately across care settings.”
MCHN enlisted RelayHealth, an organization experienced in interoperability and the service provider for CommonWell Health Alliance, to help MCHN establish connectivity within its complex environment. This new connectivity, powered by RelayHealth, will acquire and normalize critical information from across care settings and provide access to aggregated information about an individual at the point of care. “We are thrilled to be working with Minnesota Community Healthcare Network to provide access to critical health information, which includes data from individuals and from behavioral health providers,” said Ken Tarkoff, senior vice president and general manger of RelayHealth. “By establishing interoperability within its community, MCHN is building a foundation for more connected, coordinated care.”
About RelayHealth
Part of McKesson Technology Solutions, RelayHealth manages the complexity that results from fragmented healthcare technology environments by delivering cross-continuum data acquisition and aggregation, provider connectivity, patient access, and health care analytics solutions that empower health systems, clinicians and patients. Vendor-neutral and SaaS-based, RelayHealth solutions scale across the health system landscape to support cost-effective delivery of coordinated, value-based care. Visit our website: http://www.relayhealth.com/
About Minnesota Community Health Care Network, Inc.
Minnesota Community Healthcare Network, Inc., (MCHN) is an alliance of five metropolitan area behavioral health organizations (Canvas Health, Guild Incorporated, Mental Health Resources, Inc., RESOURCE, INC., and Touchstone Mental Health). Members work together to create new integrated health care models which improve comprehensive treatment for individuals who have a serious mental illness and other complex conditions including; substance abuse disorders, chronic health conditions and socioeconomic challenges.
About Hennepin Health
Hennepin Health is an innovative, integrated, health care delivery program for adults in Hennepin County, Minnesota. It is an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) consisting of four partners: Metropolitan Health Plan, Hennepin County Medical Center, the Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department and North Point Health and Wellness Center, working together to improve clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction, and decrease unnecessary costs. The program takes a holistic view of health, focusing on each member’s medical, mental health, and social needs. Services include housing and social services navigation, employment counseling, targeted case management, and access to clinics designed to meet members’ complex needs.
About Hennepin County Medical Center
Hennepin County Medical Center is a nationally recognized Level I Adult Trauma Center and Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center with the largest emergency department in Minnesota. It is operated by Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc., a subsidiary corporation of Hennepin County. The comprehensive academic medical center and public teaching hospital and clinic system includes a 455-bed acute care hospital and primary care and specialty clinics located in downtown Minneapolis and St. Anthony Village, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Golden Valley, and Richfield; and in Minneapolis in the Whittier Neighborhood and on East Lake Street.