Every day, Healthix Alerts enable providers, care teams, and public health officials across the region to intervene at the point-of-care, facilitate care coordination, and provide and assess key information about patient and client encounters. In the case of David Lee, an informatics scientist in public health, the power of Healthix Alerts recently shifted from professional to personal, making their value all the more apparent.
As the former executive director of information strategy for the city’s public health agency, David regularly collaborated with Healthix on large projects. “I knew how helpful Healthix was in theory through our work together and publications, but really hadn’t considered how it could affect my own life,” he said.
One evening, David’s phone rang. It was his primary care provider, asking if he was okay following a recent hospital visit that was brought to her attention by a Healthix Alert. A few days earlier, David had been discharged from Mt. Sinai Queens after receiving care for a blood clot, with instructions to contact his PCP before his first month of newly prescribed blood thinner medications ran out. Not doing so could have created serious health implications because of his condition.
“Until my girlfriend and roommate made me, I wasn’t even planning to go to urgent care when my leg was swollen—and I’m not that good at following up on my own health. Not surprisingly, I had forgotten to call my doctor. So when she reached out with genuine concern and said her office would schedule an appointment to authorize the second month of blood thinners, I was relieved.”
Healthix Alerts fall into three broad categories. Standard Alerts are triggered by an event, such as an admission or discharge from an emergency department. Alerts Plus delivers data for up to 120 hours after discharge, capturing nearly 30% more information. Advanced Alerts add analysis regarding more multifaceted patient status indications.
David attributes his newfound adherence to a couple of items. One was the Healthix Alert-triggered call from his PCP. The other was an affirmation that his PCP genuinely cared about his well-being. “I told my doctor that I was young and would be fine, but she emphasized how big a deal my condition was and the importance of the dosing schedule. Her urgency made this matter more to me.”
David is now senior director of data systems and product development with the Public Health Accreditation Board, and his experience has left him an even greater proponent of Healthix services. “This incident really showed me the value of Healthix. It’s not something theoretical—alerts affect regular people. In public health, we often say that every dollar invested saves you money down the road with better outcomes. In this case, it became real for me.”
Providers and care teams can benefit from receiving Healthix Alerts, as they enable intervention at the point of care, facilitate care coordination and provides key information about your patient’s or client’s encounters, even if outside your health system or network.
In addition to Standard Alerts, Healthix offers a range of Advanced Alerts with conditional triggers, including lab/clinical results, avoidable readmission, and elevated risk.
Learn more by visiting healthix.org/alerts
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