Safety Net Connect (SNC), a leading provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions, announced that the Health Services Division of the Detentions and Corrections Bureau of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the Sheriff’s Department Corrections Division of Riverside County working with the Riverside County Correctional Health Services are successfully increasing access to timely specialty care as part of the multi-county eConsult initiative funded by Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP).

“IEHP is excited to promote eConsult as a clinical best practice, particularly in a region with one of the largest provider shortages in the U.S.,” explained Priya Batra, MD, MS, Senior Medical Director at IEHP. “We are thrilled to know the eConsult platform is streamlining the delivery of specialty care to those who need it most.”

In partnership with local healthcare systems, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and Riverside University Health System, the correctional facilities have reduced medically unnecessary face-to-face specialist visits in the county jails by 57% using the eConsult platform created by SNC. Reducing unnecessary in-person visits to the local healthcare facilities has also significantly reduced associated transportation and security costs.

“We are proud of our partnership with Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) in San Bernardino County and Riverside University Health System (RUHS) in Riverside County,” said Jarrod McNaughton, MBA, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer at IEHP. “We are pleased to know the eConsult platform is improving access to quality healthcare in the most efficient way.”

“Patients in jails are often in higher need of medical, behavioral and social services,” explained Vikram Kumar, MD, MBA, Chief Health Information Officer at RUHS. “We’re excited to be able to leverage innovative technology solutions like eConsult for the patients in our County’s correctional facilities – improving timely access to the highest quality care.”

How eConsult Connects Correctional Health Providers with County Specialists. SNC’s Converge eConsult technology facilitates a convenient online connection between correctional healthcare staff and ARMC + RUHS specialists – allowing them to easily share notes, charts, and labs to create individualized patient plans in a timely fashion (often in just 1-2 days). Converge eConsult gives physicians in jail facilities with a method for resolving many specialty issues directly onsite, which alleviates the stress, expense, and liability associated with transporting patients offsite. For patients who need a face-to-face, eConsult provides an avenue for pre-qualified specialty referrals to the ARMC or RUHS medical facilities, reducing the burden of ER utilization for non-emergent issues.

About IEHP
IEHP, Inland Empire Health Plan, is the top 10 largest Medicaid health plan and the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid plan in the country. With a network of more than 6,400 providers and more than 2,000 employees, IEHP serves more than 1.2 million residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who are enrolled in Medicaid or Cal MediConnect Plan (Medicare-Medicaid Plan). Through a dynamic partnership with providers and community, award-winning service and innovative products, IEHP is fully committed to advocating for our members and providing them with quality, accessible and wellness-based health care services. For more information, visit www.iehp.org.

Safety Net Connect (SNC), a leading provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions, today announced the integration of Converge, next-generation eConsult, with Cerner’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LADHS).

Integrating Safety Net Connect’s eConsult within the Cerner EHR will further increase ease-of-use and access-to-care for LADHS patients. LADHS providers now have single sign-on, direct access to Converge eConsult within the Cerner EHR platform. This integration simplifies workflows and improves clinical care coordination, providing seamless access to the patient’s complete medical record – making it easy to securely share relevant data.

“Creating the seamless link when submitting an eConsult from Cerner has provided tangible improvement in how primary care providers care for their patients,” explains Stanley Dea, MD, Director of eConsult, LADHS. “In a health care system as large as ours, providers need every innovative edge they can use to help them through their busy workdays.”

More than 1.1 million eConsults have been provided within the LADHS system to date – over 600 LADHS specialist reviewers across 64 specialties respond to an average of 18,000 eConsults requests each month. LADHS is the second largest municipal health system in the United States, with a broad delivery network using the Converge eConsult platform across diverse care settings, including: county hospitals and clinics, providers in both rural and urban communities, jails, and juvenile courts. Longitudinal studies of the award-winning LADHS initiative with Safety Net Connect’s eConsult have demonstrated  consistent, sustainable rapid access to specialty care  – and the program has been  recognized for dramatically improving the quality of patient-centered specialty care.

“We created Safety Net Connect to increase access to the best possible care for underserved populations,” shares Chris Cruttenden, President, SNC. “Integrating Converge eConsult within the EHR at LADHS – and for our health system partners nationwide – is one more way we are fulfilling our mission to expand access to care for all patients.”

About Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LADHS) is the second largest municipal health system in the nation. The LADHS mission is to ensure access to high-quality, patient-centered, cost-effective health care to Los Angeles County residents through direct services at DHS facilities and through collaboration with community and university partners. For more information, please visit www.dhs.lacounty.gov

North County Health Services (NCHS), a southern California health system hosting 12 community health centers, is partnering with Oregon Community Health Information Network (OCHIN) to implement its EHR and electronic dental records (EDR) systems, practice management, and other health IT services.

“We are excited to partner with OCHIN to bring the best in technology for the region’s most vulnerable patients and the clinicians who care for them,” said Barbara S. Kennedy, President and CEO of NCHS.

The Oregon-based nonprofit health information and innovation network serves more than 10,000 clinicians and over 115 health organizations across the country. OCHIN leverages innovation and collaboration to improve patient health outcomes and reduce healthcare organization costs.

OCHIN delivers its Epic technology on a single, fully-integrated platform. It will give NCHS ongoing support, workflow solutions, patient engagement platforms, health information exchange, and research help.

“This partnership will allow our clinicians and staff to focus on delivering excellent care to our patients while OCHIN delivers and supports our EHR/EDR system across our clinical community,” said Kennedy.

OCHIN is known for delivering EHR solutions to community health centers, which serve low-income and vulnerable patient populations. CHCs aren’t always well-funded, making it hard for them to implement sophisticated health technologies and EHRs, but this latest partnership between OCHIN and NCHS will alleviate that issue for the California health system.

“Patients with lower incomes shouldn’t be left behind as health information technology continues to evolve,” said OCHIN’s CEO, Abby Sears. “This partnership will bring the most advanced information technology to all NCHS centers. Care will be more coordinated, which leads to better outcomes and healthier lives for patients.”

NCHS serves more than 67,000 patients in North San Diego County and Riverside County. It has 12 medical sites moving to the OCHIN Epic platform in 2020, which will improve the overall patient experience, from coordination to care, the health system said.

In 2018, OCHIN integrated electronic consultation serves (eConsult) into its Epic and NextGen EHR systems in an effort to streamline EHR use for providers and enable single sign on capabilities.

“The integration of these eConsult platforms is a natural addition to our technology portfolio,” said Sears. “We’re dedicated to finding innovative technologies that make a meaningful difference for patients and the providers who care for them.”

“By measurably improving real-time data exchange, collaboration between systems and providers, and sustainably increasing access to care, SNC and RubiconMD help us fulfill our mission,” Sears continued.

OCHIN partnered with eConsult platform vendors RubiconMD and Safety Net Connect (SNC) to cut down the number of clicks per day for EHR providers, limiting administrative burden.

OCHIN has also been pushing to make EHR systems more workable with social determinants of health (SDOH) data.

A 2017 OHCIN study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine (JABFM) found regulating social factors of health data collection and presentation in EHR systems can improve patient and population health outcomes in community health centers.

Researchers working with OCHIN developed ways to optimize social determinants of health data collection, present the data in EHR systems, and integrate the data into EHRs.

Researchers found documenting a patient’s social determinants of health data in EHRs may allow care teams to leverage the information for more comprehensive, accurate patient care delivery and care coordination.

Safety Net Connect (SNC), a leading provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions, is pleased to announce the multi-county eConsult initiative funded by Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) and launched in partnership with local healthcare systems, including Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) in San Bernardino County and Riverside University Health System (RUHS) in Riverside County, is successfully increasing timely access to specialty care and improving care coordination for members enrolled in Medi-Cal (Medicaid) or Cal MediConnect (Medicare-Medicaid Plan).

This groundbreaking payer and provider collaboration creates the infrastructure for a sustainable, long-term solution to the challenges of specialty care access using SNC’s next-generation eConsult technology platform: “Converge”. Following a successful launch with ARMC and RUHS, the program was expanded to include the RUHS Correctional Health System Facilities – bringing the current number of participating locations to 63 sites. Community-based physicians have rapidly adopted Converge to quickly and efficiently connect to specialists – with system utilization increasing over 50% every month and more than 15,000 eConsults completed to date. Twenty-two medical specialties are currently included in the multi-county initiative – with cardiology, orthopedics, ophthalmology and gastroenterology among the most accessed.

“We’re excited to work with IEHP and the Counties of Riverside and San Bernardino to extend eConsult through this innovative collaboration,” said Chris Cruttenden of SNC. “Our Converge eConsult is the only enterprise multitenant solution designed to seamlessly bring together disparate patient populations, provider networks and health systems under one roof to improve access to specialty care. We believe evolving payer/provider partnerships and leadership from plans like IEHP hold the key to closing the gaps in our healthcare system.”

Having processed over 1.5 million eConsult transactions, the SNC Converge platform is the largest eConsult provider in the nation. With the addition of this IEHP sponsored initiative, Converge now connects over 8 million patients to specialty care in Southern California alone – further validating the value and scalability of the SNC eConsult technology for improving coordination and access to care. SNC partners with WISE Healthcare to implement eConsult in all of the IEHP sites.

How eConsult Works
When a patient has a health complaint that may need specialty attention, their primary care physician (PCP) can use the Converge platform to initiate a dialog or electronic consultation (“eConsult”) with a Specialist. Integrated decision support and referral guidelines help to triage requests to participating specialists who can efficiently respond with recommendations for diagnosis, treatment, and referral. The majority of eConsults provide physicians with the necessary guidance to manage patients in the primary care setting – enabling specialists to focus on complex patients, and engage in a more-informed initial appointment. Published outcomes demonstrate shorter specialty care wait times, reduction in the need for face-to-face specialty visits, and lower costs while maintaining high quality of care.

About IEHP
IEHP, Inland Empire Health Plan, is a not-for-profit Medi-Cal and Medicare health plan located in Rancho Cucamonga, California. With a network of more than 6,400 providers and more than 2,100 employees, IEHP serves more than 1.25 million residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who are enrolled in  Medi-Cal  or  Cal MediConnect Plan (Medicare-Medicaid Plan). Through a dynamic partnership with providers, award-winning service and innovative products, IEHP is fully committed to providing members with quality, accessible and wellness-based healthcare services. www.iehp.org.

Safety Net Connect (SNC) a leading provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions, is pleased to announce that the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LADHS) has delivered over 1,000,000 eConsults using the Converge, next-generation eConsult technology, from SNC. This unprecedented milestone marks the scale, efficacy and success of LADHS’ agency-wide initiative in delivering rapid access to coordinated care for the county’s diverse safety net community.

We’re harnessing technology to facilitate more collaborative, effective, and efficient care,” explains Dr. Hal Yee, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, LADHS. “This is a notable achievement in health information technology – and represents a true transformation in our nation’s model of healthcare delivery.”

Inspired by the eReferral technology developed at San Francisco General Hospital by Dr. Yee, the LADHS eConsult platform initially launched with just two specialties and only 53 eConsults in July of 2012. Since then the program has expanded to include a panel of 600 specialist reviewers across 64 specialties, responding to an average of 20,000 eConsults requests each month. Notably, the LADHS eConsult initiative has dramatically improved access to quality care for the county’s safety net community, with an overall reduction of 50% in wait times for many DHS specialties since the program’s initiation.

“The eConsult program had almost immediate buy-in which led to rapid adoption and expansion,” shared Stanley Dea, MD, Director of eConsult, LADHS. “The short time it took us to reach a million eConsults is testimony to continued value to all our users. We anticipate continued improvement of the platform over the next million eConsults.”

LADHS is the second largest municipal health system in the United States, with a vast delivery network using the eConsult platform across diverse care settings, including: county hospitals and clinics, providers in both rural and urban communities, jails, and juvenile courts. Longitudinal studies of the LADHS initiative have demonstrated consistent, sustainable rapid access to specialty care– and the program has been recognized for dramatically improving the quality of patient-centered specialty care.

About Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) is the second largest municipal health system in the nation. Through its integrated system of 24 health centers and four hospitals – and expanded network of community partner clinics – DHS annually provides direct care for over 500,000 unique patients and employs over 22,000 staff. In 2015, the County Departments of Health Services, Public Health, and Mental Health were integrated under a Health Agency Model to meet the County’s most pressing health needs. For additional information, please visit www.dhs.lacounty.gov

Safety Net Connect (SNC), a leading provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions, is pleased to announce David J. Shulkin, MD, will join SNC as an advisor for strategic planning and technology development. In this role Dr. Shulkin, an internationally-recognized expert in system transformation and data-driven quality improvement, will ensure SNC solutions continue to adapt to the changing needs of key stakeholder markets, including: health systems, government programs, payors, and public health systems.

“Working with the SNC leadership team is a natural extension of my personal mission to use innovative, informed and systems-based solutions to transform the delivery of healthcare” explains Dr. Shulkin. “All patients deserve timely access to high-quality, whole person care – and that shouldn’t be affected by your zip code, your economic status, or your ability to successfully navigate the healthcare system.”

A board-certified internist, Dr. Shulkin has dedicated his career to improving health and wellness for all patients. Confirmed by a unanimous US Senate vote of 100-0, Dr. Shulkin served as ninth Secretary of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In this role, he improved systems capacity and infrastructure to expand timely access to primary, specialty and behavioral healthcare providers for our nation’s veterans. This “whole person” approach to coordinated healthcare had a dramatic impact on outcomes and patient satisfaction – raising trust in VA services from 46 to 70% during his tenure.

Prior to his work with the VA, Dr. Shulkin served as Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officer of numerous leading U.S. hospitals and healthcare systems including: Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, Morristown Medical Center, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hospital, and the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital. He also founded his own mission-driven technology start-up designed to bring accessible, patient-friendly quality data to the public. Dr. Shulkin has been recognized as one of “50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders” by Modern Healthcare and one of the “Top 100 Physician Leaders of Hospitals and Health Systems” by Becker’s Hospital Review.

“We are honored to work with Dr. Shulkin and to bring his expertise and guidance to our technology solutions and healthcare partners,” shared Keith Matsutsuyu, CEO and co-founder of SNC. “We have a shared vision of integrated, inclusive and data-informed care, and together we can achieve truly meaningful system transformation… which ultimately means better care for each individual patient.”

Safety Net Connect is pleased to announce that the County of Orange has gone live with the Whole Person Care coordination platform. The system connects multiple agencies both within and outside of the County structure and allows any member of the beneficiary’s care team to access information, review and participate in care coordination activities, and reduce duplication of efforts, since different entities were not communicating effectively with each other prior to this system.

Safety Net Connect (SNC), a leading provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of its WPC Connect platform with the County of Orange Health Care Agency (HCA) in the Whole Person Care (WPC) pilot program. WPC aims to help Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are struggling with homelessness with more effective and inclusive coordination of services.

The WPC Connect platform will facilitate a non-traditional, patient-centered approach to care coordination for the County of Orange WPC pilot. With WPC Connect, community-based providers (who historically have not had pathways for data sharing with each other) will be connected to a centralized hub for real-time communication. Prior to the WPC pilot, for example, a homeless shelter wouldn’t necessarily know that a client was recently hospitalized for a particular condition. Now when a patient experiencing homelessness enters an emergency room, providers will use WPC Connect to generate a “Community-Collaborative Care Plan” and coordinate with other WPC partner agencies in real time – including clinics, homeless shelters, recuperative care services, emergency rooms and other providers.

“Our county has a number of great, community-based resource and service providers who are dedicated to helping people dealing with the many challenges of homelessness,” explained Melissa Tober, Manager, Strategic Projects, Health Policy, Research, & Communication, HCA. “With WPC Connect we can engage all of our providers in the community in real time – whether they are part of the same network or system (or not). We are essentially creating a uniquely tailored, virtual care network for each patient we serve.”

“We are thrilled to have been selected to be part of this initiative,” said Keith Matsutsuyu of SNC. “Our mission is to facilitate holistic, equitable care for safety net populations. We’re truly honored to work with innovative leadership from HCA, CalOptima, and the community organizations who are on the frontline, to help make a meaningful impact on our nation’s crisis of homelessness.”

About WPC
WPC is the coordination of physical, behavioral health, and social services in a patient-centered approach with the goals of improved health and well-being through more efficient and effective use of resources for Medi-Cal beneficiaries struggling with homelessness. WPC promotes increased communication between hospital emergency rooms, CalOptima, community clinics, HCA Behavioral Health Services and Public Health Services as well as recuperative care providers to improve access and navigation of services for the homeless population. For more information, please visit: http://www.ochealthinfo.com/wpc.