Social Health Information Exchange (SHIE)

​​​​​​​​​​​​​What is SHC?

​Sacramento Health Connect (SHC)--a social health information exchange (SHIE)--is a robust and secure data exchange platform that integrates and shares an individual’s medical, behavioral health, housing, incarceration/detention, and social health data with authorized health and social service providers. This exchange helps participants to improve the quality and efficiency of person-centered care, supports efforts to maintain continuity of Medi-Cal coverage, and improves health outcomes for individuals and communities.

Sacramento Health Connect graphic that shows the various areas the platform covers - platform that integrates and shares an individual’s medical, behavioral health, housing, incarceration/detention, and social health

Why Sacramento Health Connect?

​We are creating an opportunity to deliver a more coordinated approach to care and services to support optimal individual outcomes and reduce health inequities. The purpose of the SHC architecture is to establish a secure data sharing infrastructure and framework that exchanges data across sectors and silos to enable the delivery of data-driven, responsive and holistic care. This model connects the social factors that influence health with a person's physical and behavioral health care so that wherever they seek care, they should be able to access or be referred to services that best meet their physical, behavioral, and social health needs.​

 

Goals of ​​SHC

The overall goals of SHC align with those of California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), which is a broad transformation of Medi-Cal aimed at creating a more coordinated, person-centered, and equitable health system that works for all Californians. Similarly, SHC strives to support and promote increased coordination and effective, personalized care across all providers through systems improvements.

​Long-Term SHC Goals for Individuals​

  • SHC will remove data silos, which will make seeking and receiving care more accessible and equitable. ​This, in turn, can reduce the rates at which​ individuals experience hospitalization and reincarceration.

  • SHC will promote whole-person health. Individuals will no longer have to separate aspects of healt​h and wellness that are in fact deeply connected.

  • Individuals will not need to recount complex medical and social histories over and over ​again or take the same screenings multiple times when visiting a provider. This will save time and improve the experience​ of seeking care.​

​Long-Term SHC Goals for Providers

  • ​​​SHC will connect providers to the data they need to more effectively meet their patients' holistic needs.

  • SHC will reduce the amount of time providers spend on paperwork by creating efficiencies that make the time spent more productive.

  • SHC will build a data-sharing network that enables providers to not only send closed-loop referrals, but also to avoid sending patients to services that do not work well for them.​

SHC Timeline​

SHC is a multi-year initiative with no expected end date. While initial research, community engagement, and planning began in 2021, the core data architecture, technical infrastructure, and data exchange components will be built over a three-year period, beginning in 2025. The following is a high-level overview of the SHC timeline, including the initial period of planning and research as well as the phased approach to technical implementation.

  • Pre-Implementation (2021-2024): County staff conducted extensive research and led several community engagement initiatives, including community partner interviews and a survey, to better understand data exchange needs in Sacramento. Additionally, the County launched a competitive bidding process to seen an implementation partner to support the technical vendor procurement process, setting up data governance structures and compliance processes, developing funding models, and providing consulting services in the areas of research and analysis, training, and project management. 
  • Core Infrastructure and Data Integration (2025-2026): Innovaccer will build the core infrastructure and integrate data from health, social services, criminal justice, and housing systems.
  • CHR and Analytics Launch (2026): ​Launch of the Community Health Record (CHR) portal for HIPAA-covered stakeholders and justice-involved partners operating in Sacramento County and initial development of an analytics platform and dashboards.
  • Expansion and Maintenance (2027 and beyond): Broaded access to the CHR to more community partners, further expand dashboard analytics, and implement consumer consent and referral management functionalities.

We are excited to partner with Innovaccer​ to develop the adaptable and sustainable architecture at the core of SHC. Innovaccer was selected following a competitive bidding process from October 2023 through April 2024.