Project Notify- Automated Notifications to Improve Care Coordination
Welcome to Project Notify! The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS), is using Project Notify to reduce preventable readmissions and improve care coordination for better health outcomes for Connecticut’s Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as engaging the provider community and care managers informed.
It is estimated that approximately 80% of serious medical errors involve miscommunication during patient transfers or hand-offs. Automated notifications support providers’ ability to care for their patients and have been proven to improve care coordination and help contain healthcare costs. In 2016, the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided updated guidance on the availability of federal funding at the 90 percent matching rate for state expenditures on activities to promote health information exchange (HIE) and encourage the adoption of certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology by eligible Medicaid providers.
A Brief Video: Transforming Patient Care with Real-Time Alert Notifications
Example of an Alert Notification
Program Highlights
Project Notify provides near real alert notifications to providers when a Medicaid patient is either discharged or admitted into a hospital (Inpatient and ED). After the member is admitted and/or discharged, the member’s PCP (primary care provider) receives a notification of the discharge and/or admit event within their practice EHR. The healthcare alerts can be delivered to the members’ primary care physician, case manager and other members of the care delivery teams. All messages are delivered using the Direct Protocol providing secure encrypted messages inside all EHRs.
Benefits of Automated Notifications
- Incorporates actionable data into the provider workflow
- Provides real-time notifications of hospital visits (admit, discharges, or ER) for active patients in your practice
- Increased visibility into the patient’s care when received outside the physician’s office (better patient management)
- Promotes improved transition of care from the inpatient to ambulatory setting
- Helps providers meet quality/cost measurement thresholds associated with value-based reimbursement (i.e. medication reconciliation and hospital readmission rates)
- Easy to get started - No IT resources needed if using Direct Messaging, the functionality is already within their EHR system
In February 2018, the DSS went live with Project Notify with Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS) being the first to provide real-time ADT messages. Hartford Healthcare System ADT feeds went into production in Sept 2018. Currently, four FQHCs and five Behavioral Health facilities are using Project Notify to provide more than 25,000 weekly ADT messages across the network.
An “ADT alert” is a real-time notification of an admission, discharge, transfer encounter sent to a care coordinator or a primary care physician (PCP) that is used to effectively intervene in the care pathway.
Currently, Phase II (2019-20) work includes 1) onboarding additional hospitals and subscribing providers, 2) working with other state agencies for leveraging the notification engine, 3) integration with the EMPI and Relation Registry, and 4) integration with the Medicaid HIE platform (HealthShare). A shared alerts/notification technology solution can support the exchange of information to coordinate services and support better care for people.
Learn More About Project Notify
If you would like additional information on this project or would like to leverage our technology, please email Minakshi.Tikoo@ct.gov.
References:
https://ehrintelligence.com/news/onc-guide-shows-reduction-in-readmissions-with-adt-alerts
Updated 3/1/2019