Delivering whole-person care often requires coordinating across different providers, organizations, and geographies. But as we all know, our disparate systems often make seamless referrals and the exchange of essential information challenging. HealthierHere is excited to share a suite of technology solutions that makes this work easier: Connect2 Technology.

Co-designed by and for small to medium community-based organizations (CBOs), Connect2 Technology enables seamless client management and the sharing of data and information across sectors and geographies. Originally developed for the HealthierHere Community Hub, its features and interoperability have proved so valuable, that it’s been adopted by other Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs) across  Washington state. Easily tailored to any social care network, Connect2 Technology includes: 

• Connect2 Coordinator, a web-based client management application with an easy-to-use interface that lets users easily coordinate care and referrals for an array of services, from food and housing to mental health support.
• Connect2 Exchange, the “back-end” of the system, which enables storage and sharing of client information – with consent of the client  – among users within a designated information-sharing network with the highest privacy and security protocols.
• In King County, the Connect2 Resource Directory, a robust directory of social services and health supports that is continuously being updated. As other ACHs adopt the technology, the directory is being expanded. 

Connect2 Technology is the result of five years of collaboration – first co-designing functional priorities, technical principles and requirements, and governance policies with community partners, followed by development of the technical solution. After a little over a year in use, the technology is already delivering significant benefits. Here’s what Connect2 users told us  they most appreciate: 

Continuous Documentation Improves Client Experience Across Providers

CBOs want their clients to feel like engaging social care support is easy and that being handed off to another service provider doesn’t mean they’ll have to start over. Connect2 enables continuous documentation of demographics, client assessments, and social/health needs that can be shared with other social care providers connected to the Connect2 system. A referral becomes a seamless warm handoff where empathy and understanding form the basis of that first connection.

Streamlined Referrals Maximize Client Engagement Time 

Community Based Workers (CBWs) want to spend less time on the phone making and following up on referrals so they can maximize their time with clients. This requires the ability to make referrals online and track them easily. Connect2 supports closed-loop referrals with participating organizations. Captured data includes referral outcomes, so current and future CBWs can better understand a client’s needs.

Robust Data and Analysis Creates Opportunities for Improvements

Connect2 is a robust data tool that enables the collection, analysis and storage of data all in one place. Data on client demographics, service needs, referral types, and referral outcomes can be easily extracted for analysis.

• Olympic Community of Health uses this data to report its impact to funders; they’re also learning about gaps in data collection, which allows for targeted work with their community care hub partner organizations about the value of documentation in their own work. 
• HealthierHere is using Hub-wide data to learn about CBW capacity and make assignments that spread the client load while also keeping cultural alignment in mind. 

Both ACHs are learning more about who they’re connecting with, what works and what doesn't, and why, which can improve how they provide help in the future.

Connect2 is much more user-friendly and easier to use. We can pull data that we actually need, and aren’t limited by what the system provides.
–Olympic Community of Health‍

Interoperability Makes Sharing Data Across Systems Easy

Some CBOs want to exchange client information with other organizations without adopting another application solely to enable information exchange. Connect2 Exchange, where client data and information are securely stored, bridges this gap. Regardless of the client management system in use, CBOs can integrate with the information exchange using their preferred tool and interface, much as different technology applications can connect to the Cloud.

Collaboration Leads to Continuous Learning and Improvement 

When CBOs use the same system for data, information exchange, and client management, it opens up opportunities for peer learning and takes creative problem-solving to a new level. The Connect2 team operates with a user-centered lens and regularly incorporates feedback and ideas from the CBWs and organizational leaders who use Connect2. Their input and brainstorming have led to the development and refinement of CBO workflow, including what client data is collected, interactions between CBOs and clients, collecting client consent, and the ongoing exploration of scaling up closed-loop systems. 

We did not yet have a technology purchased, and when we saw Connect2 Coordinator in action, we liked it. HealthierHere was very transparent. When we began using it, we told them what works, and what doesn’t. We asked for system improvements, which HealthierHere is working on. 
–Olympic Community of Health

Privacy Guarantees Build Trust

Respecting and protecting clients’ privacy and data is central to Connect2 and critical to the health and well-being of our clients, partners, and business operations. Connect 2’s  HIPAA-compliant and comprehensive policies and procedures were co-designed with consumers and service providers to safeguard privacy and respect client preferences down to the individual level.

Using a Shared System can Support Seamless Care Coordination Across Geographic Boundaries

When people move between regions, care coordination should be able to follow them to their new homes.  Being on a shared system makes that possible. It also allows organizations to better align documentation and data collection to collaboratively understand and better meet clients’ needs.

Learn how you can benefit from Connect2 Technology: 

In the end, your work and our work are about serving the whole-person needs of our community members in the most effective, compassionate, and respectful way possible. Connect2 Technology is a powerful tool that levels the playing field and makes this achievable for all social care networks in Washington state. 

Visit www.connect2.org to learn more about the technology solutions and contact us to explore how Connect2 can work for you.

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