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State health information exchange Synchronoss urges funding, mandates and data governance to fill HIE gaps
Summary
Synchronoss told the Legislative Health & Human Services committee it holds clinical and claims data on more than 2.5 million people, offers dashboards and a health equity map, and asked lawmakers to consider funding provider onboarding, data sharing mandates or a health data utility to close gaps and improve care coordination.
Terry Stewart, president and CEO of Synchronoss (the state’s designated health information exchange), and Philip Gibbs, director of customer engagements, told the Legislative Health & Human Services committee the HIE now functions as a health data utility with tools for clinicians, policymakers and MCOs.
Stewart said Synchronoss maintains a clinical portal with a master patient index, integrates Medicaid claims and clinical records, and provides role‑based access governed by HIPAA and state electronic medical record rules. He said the HIE holds records on over 2.5 million individuals (primarily New Mexicans) and that about 95% of hospital beds in the state share at least some data—though many feeds are limited to ADT (admissions, discharges, transfers) and do not include full clinical notes or procedures.
Why it matters: Synchronoss argued that richer data and broader participation would improve point‑of‑care decisions, reduce duplication, support Medicaid performance measurement and inform policy using a health equity map built from 157 public datasets overlaid with clinical and claims data. Examples given included ED notifications for high utilizers, a hepatitis C treatment dashboard and maternal health risk tools.
Funding and policy ask: Synchronoss said that the principal barrier to fuller participation is the one‑time and maintenance interface costs charged by EMR vendors and estimated that fully onboarding all Medicaid providers would cost roughly $4,000,000 per year for state support to offset those expenses. The organization recommended state help with initial costs or mandated participation through contracts or statute (pointing to other states’ statutory approaches) and offered to provide demos for legislative staff.
Privacy and security: Committee members raised privacy concerns; Synchronoss said it maintains SOC 2 Type 2 certification, uses role‑based access, provides audit logs showing who viewed a patient’s records, and is pursuing HITRUST (high trust) certification. The HIE operates on an opt‑out basis; individuals can request records be blocked and can obtain an audit of who accessed their data.
What’s next: Legislators expressed interest in aggregate access for policymaking (for example, the Legislative Finance Committee), funding options to reduce friction for small and rural providers, and possible inclusion of HIE participation in Medicaid contracts or a health data utility governance framework. Synchronoss offered further materials, cost breakdowns and demonstrations.
Selected quotes: "We have records on over 2.5 million individuals," Stewart said, and the HIE reported about 22,000 weekly logins from users. Synchronoss recommended exploring mandates or subsidies to close remaining data gaps and reduce duplicate reporting burdens across state agencies.
Speakers and documents quoted in this article come from the Synchronoss presentation and committee Q&A. Synchronoss and the health care authority hold the underlying data; lawmakers requested additional cost and scope materials for analysis.
