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Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs) are collaborative groups of health centers that work together to address operational and clinical challenges related to health information technology (HIT). The Alaska Quality Improvement Network (AQuIN) has been a HCCN grantee funded by the United States Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) since 2016. To become a member in AQuIN, participating health centers sign a special Memorandum of Agreement that provides for data sharing within the network. The AQuIN offers participating health centers a place to connect with one other as we each gain momentum by leveraging our efforts to enhance patient & provider experiences, advance interoperability, and use data to enhance value. The AQuIN is governed by its participating health centers and facilitated by experts and consultants at Alaska’s Primary Care Association. The real strength and benefit from our network comes from within the participating health centers directly, as they share & utilize each other’s experience, expertise, and multidisciplinary backgrounds to advance Alaska’s community health landscape.
In 2017, AQuIN procured the Azara DRVS data warehouse for participating CHCs. The tool is interfaced with each participating health center’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) and pulls out population health data that can help clinics analyze information and take actionable steps to optimize human and digital workflows. In 2019, AQuIN welcomed additional participating health centers in Alaska that were utilizing ANTHC’s Health Catalyst data warehouse tool and analytics. Today, AQuIN-awarded funding helps to offset some of the costs of both Azara DRVS and Health Catalyst platforms to onboard new members & pay for some annual subscription fees to help relieve burdens on Alaska’s health centers. HCCN staff facilitate quarterly EHR user groups, 1:1 Health IT resources, and ongoing quality improvement support for participating centers throughout Alaska.
ALEUTIAN PRIBILOF ISLAND ASSOCIATION
ANCHORAGE NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CENTER
BETHEL FAMILY CLINIC
CAMAI COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
COUNCIL OF ATHABASCAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS
CROSS ROAD HEALTH MINISTRIES
COPPER RIVER NATIVE ASSOCIATION
GIRDWOOD HEALTH CLINIC
ILANKA COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER – NATIVE VILLAGE OF EYAK
ILIULIUK FAMILY AND HEALTH SERVICES
JAMHI HEALTH & WELLNESS
KODIAK COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
MAT-SU HEALTH SERVICES
NORTON SOUND HEALTH CORPORATION
PENINSULA COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES OF ALASKA
SUNSHINE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
SELDOVIA VILLAGE TRIBE HEALTH AND WELLNESS
SEWARD COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
TANANA CHIEFS CONFERENCE
YAKUTAT COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
HCCN Work Plan Objectives FY2022:
Objective 1: Patient Engagement
Increase the percentage of PHCs that support patients and families’ participation in their health care through expanded use of integrated digital health tools (e.g., electronic messages sent through patient portals to providers, telehealth visits, remote monitoring devices).
Objective 2: Patient Privacy and Cybersecurity
Increase the percentage of PHCs with formally defined health information and technology policies and practices that advance security to protect individual privacy and organizational access.
Objective 3: Social Risk Factor Intervention
Increase the percentage of PHCs using patient-level social risk factor data to support patient care plans for coordinated and effective interventions.
Objective 4: Disaggregated (Patient-Level) Data
Increase the percentage of PHCs with systems and staff aligned with submitting disaggregated, patient-level data via UDS+.
Objective 5: Interoperable Data Exchange and Information
Increase the percentage of PHCs with the capacity to integrate clinical information with data from clinical and non-clinical sources across the health care continuum (e.g., hospitals, specialty providers, departments of health, health information exchanges (HIE), care coordinators, social service/housing organizations) to optimize care coordination and workflows.
Objective 6: Data Utilization
Increase the percentage of PHCs that use data strategies, such as use of predictive analytics with data visualization, to support performance improvement and value-based care activities.
Objective 7: Leveraging Digital Health Tools
Increase the percentage of PHCs that support providers and staff in achieving and maintaining proficiency in the use of digital health tools (e.g., telehealth and remote patient monitoring tools).
Objective 8: Health IT Usability and Adoption
Increase the percentage of PHCs that improve health IT usability and adoption by providers, staff, and patients (e.g., align EHRs with clinical workflows, improve structured data capture in and/or outside of EHRs, use of metadata to improve EHR user experience).
Objective 9: Health Equity
Develop one objective and associated outcome measure that will focus on utilizing a health IT innovation (e.g., digital patient engagement tools, remote patient monitoring, emergency preparedness, artificial intelligence) to improve the health status of their PHCs’ communities by reducing health disparities and/or addressing social determinants of health.
Objective 10: Improving Digital Health Tools
Reduce operational barriers to health IT usability and adoption through the implementation of at least one health IT facilitated intervention annually that focuses on topics such as aligning EHRs with clinical workflows, improving structured data capture in and/or outside of EHRs, regular EHR support and training, or use of metadata to improve EHR user experience.”
For more information on AQuIN, APCA’s Health Center Controlled Network, please contact: Linda Emmett, APCA’s Nurse Informaticist at OPS@alaskapca.org ”