HAC-CNY signs multi-year agreement with Axolotl

Axolotl Corp., the nationwide leader in health information exchange (HIE) services and solutions, and Health Advancement Collaborative of Central New York (HAC-CNY), the regional health information organization connecting medical providers across Central New York, today announced that the Health Advancement Collaborative of Central New York (HAC-CNY) has signed a multi-year agreement with Axolotl to deploy its Elysium® Exchange suite of applications to build a clinical information exchange network to connect Central New York's health care providers.

“Axolotl's leadership position and proven success in deploying the most advanced HIEs across New York made them the clear choice to provide the technology and services to build the Central New York exchange.”

HAC-CNY is a not for profit multi-stakeholder organization formed in 2005 to bring together employers, hospitals, physicians, insurers, and consumers in a collaborative forum to advance high quality health care, access and safety in Central New York while decreasing or maintaining costs. The Collaborative is committed to fostering positive change in health care for the Central New York community.

"HAC-CNY's highest priority is to create the ability for health care providers across Central New York to exchange patient information electronically in a secure, protected manner," said Orrin B. MacMurray, President, HAC-CNY. "Axolotl's leadership position and proven success in deploying the most advanced HIEs across New York made them the clear choice to provide the technology and services to build the Central New York exchange."

Axolotl's Elysium Exchange will clinically network the regions disparate hospital health information systems (HIS) and electronic medical records (EMRs) located in physician practices to achieve clinical interoperability and the ONC's "Meaningful Use" criteria. Physicians will be able to communicate directly from their EMR and exchange information without the use of a drop box or any specialized hardware device in their practice - sharing referrals, laboratory results, radiology reports, submitting prescriptions and renewals instantly and securely. Ambulatory physicians not already on an electronic system can quickly and easily participate and become interoperable with the HAC-CNY HIE using Axolotl's Elysium 9, a CCHIT Certified® 2008 Ambulatory EHR. Additionally, the Elysium Virtual Health Record (VHR) will provide all authorized physicians access to a complete longitudinal chart - virtually aggregated from all connected HIS, EMR and other clinical systems.

The initial providers sharing patient information include four Syracuse-area hospitals - Community General Hospital, Crouse Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, and SUNY Upstate Medical University; the following large primary-care practices - CNY Family Care, Family Care Medical Group, Internists Associates of CNY, St. Joseph Hospital Primary Care Centers & St. Joseph Physician Health PC, and University Hospital General Primary Care and Specialty Clinics; and Laboratory Alliance of Central New York. Beginning in 2011, HAC-CNY intends to expand the HIE to include other Central New York community providers.

"It is critical that clinical information is available to all providers when and where it is needed in order to provide the highest quality of care," said Robert J. Hack, RHIO Director, HAC-CNY. "The technology to connect all the disparate systems in a community, make the data interoperable and useful is available and proven. We are excited to enable our providers and physicians to have a complete picture of the health of their patients while also providing clinical data instantly, and directly into their EMR."

Federal, State and local funds are being used for the initial capital costs of the HAC-CNY exchange and to become fully interoperable with the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY) - exchanging information with other RHIOs in the state. In addition to other statewide and RHIO initiatives around the country, Axolotl powers Bronx RHIO, Rochester RHIO, HealtheLink in Western New York and Interboro RHIO in New York.

"Axolotl is delighted to provide HAC-CNY with HIE solutions to transform the quality and efficiency of health care in Central New York," said Glenn Keet, President of Axolotl. "We look forward to collaboratively working with the HAC-CNY and other health care organizations across New York for statewide clinical connectivity."