Community Information Exchange

What is a Community Information Exchange (CIE)

A Community Information Exchange enables care coordination between health, community, and social service organizations.

A Community Information Exchange is led by a network of collaborative partners that envision a community where no matter which door a person walks through, the phone number they dial or the database they search, they are easily connected to resources that meet all their needs.

Across the United States, there are numerous CIE initiatives, each unique and innovative, demonstrating the future for community-led models of coordinating care across sectors.  211 San Diego developed the first CIE.  You can browse their extensive resources at www.ciesandiego.org/.

Why a Community Information Exchange

Historically, multiple service providers serving the same person aren’t aware of each other’s services or changes made to a person’s status.  Their siloed data limits a holistic understanding of a client’s interconnected needs and the ability to support case coordination, goals, or prevention work.

Connections to services can require people to navigate multiple systems and processes.  People must describe their situation repeatedly to different organizations.  Follow through with service providers relies solely on the person to self-report.  People in crisis or at risk can easily fall through the cracks.

Unmet social needs diminish people’s well-being and ability to engage in daily activities.  Such unmet needs also increase the likelihood of developing or exacerbating chronic diseases.  Minority populations (Indigenous, black, and racial and ethnic cultural communities) disproportionately experience unmet social needs.  Crises like the COVID-19 pandemic have further increased disparities when individuals and families face even greater barriers to protecting their health.

There is no formal bridge between health and social care.  Poverty puts patients at higher risk for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and depression.  Children in low-income families are at higher risk of low birth weights, mental health problems, asthma, malnutrition, injuries, and hospitalization.  Clinicians don’t have the time to screen patients for social needs or risk factors.  Clinicians have limited ability to make referrals or help patients effectively navigate the complexity of the human service system.  Duplicate efforts are made in creating and maintaining electronic resource lists.

How a Community Information Exchange Works

With authorization (consent) from individuals, the network partners use a secure Community Information Exchange database to create a case record of the person’s interactions with health and social services providers.

Using a single longitudinal record of an individual’s history and system interactions enables partners to accept and make referrals, coordinate with other providers, make/update case notes and send alerts and status updates to coordinate care in real time – creating a unified shared care plan.

Clinicians and other service providers will use the database to document service utilization and outcomes and measure changes to a person’s health and well-being over time.  The aggregate data will provide communities with a population-level view of well-being.

South Georgian Bay Community Information Exchange Network

The South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team is developing a Community Information Exchange Network.

The South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team is a team of local health professionals, organizations and community members working together to ensure people have access to the right care from the right team in the right care setting when they need it.  Community Connection is a member of the Ontario Health Team.

The Community Information Network will expand membership beyond the Ontario Health Team to include all organizations in South Georgian Bay which provide services to people and families.  The network’s goals are to build a connected community by:

• Increasing trust and partnership across sectors with the community to support whole-person and whole-family care.
• Improving access to resources and services.
• Intentionally address resource gaps and capacity and health inequities.

This list of network members will be updated as new organizations join:

• Georgian Bay Family Health Team - https://gbfht.ca/
• Hospice Georgian Triangle - https://hospicegeorgiantriangle.com/
• South Georgian Bay Community Health Centre - https://www.southgeorgianbaychc.ca/
• South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team - https://southgeorgianbayoht.ca/
• Community Connection - https://communityconnection.ca/

Community Connection’s Role

Over the past three years, Community Connection has invested in enhanced digital tools to improve its services and outcomes for its clients.

Community Connection acts as the Community Information Exchange backbone organization to guide the vision and strategy, support aligned activities, establish shared measures, build public will, advance policy and mobilize funding.

It envisions integrating with other 211 service providers to scale Community Information Exchange networks across the province.

Data Stored and Shared within the Community Information Exchange Database

The database contains personal, identifiable information such as a full name, date of birth, phone number, email addresses, and other information disclosed by clients and organizations providing their support or care.

Community Information Exchange Network partners are legally bound to limit their access to personal information solely to support care coordination for the clients they are working with.  These details can be viewed in Community Connection’s privacy policy here: Online Privacy Statement August 2023.

Questions or concerns about information misuse should be reported to Community Connection by emailing [email protected] or calling 705-444-0040 and asking to speak with the Privacy Officer.

Client Rights

Clients who have previously consented to their information being entered and shared within the Community Information Exchange database can change their decision at any time by revoking the consent.

To revoke consent, clients complete this form, and a team member will confirm the completed request.