Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NEHII), NextGate, InterSystems and KPI Ninja Partner to Support Statewide COVID-19 Data Collection and Reporting

COVID-19 dashboard provides real-time laboratory data and hospital bed management for accurate monitoring and case reporting

To help the state of Nebraska accurately track COVID-19 cases and test results, the Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NEHII), in cooperation with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, has gone live with its COVID-19 data-monitoring platform.

NEHII’s COVID-19 dashboard is a comprehensive data, event tracking and reporting platform that connects critical public health information across the entire state to effectively monitor the outbreak and guide response efforts.

Using technology from NextGate, InterSystems and KPI Ninja, public health officials and care teams across Nebraska have access to accurate, comprehensive data on COVID-19 patients as well as key resource utilization. Using NextGate’s cloud-based Enterprise Master Patient Index (EMPI), KPI Ninja Universe, and InterSystems HealthShare, NEHII can aggregate and link COVID-19 data into a single, consolidated view that moves in real-time, based on direct data feeds from hospitals, clinics and laboratories throughout Nebraska. This includes data specific to admission, discharge, lab results and other pertinent information related to COVID-19, ensuring the right data is correctly tied to the right patient.

Development of NEHII’s dashboard began in mid-March, and the system is now able to:

  • Deliver real-time data on laboratory testing, with comprehensive and accurate insights to numerator/denominator

  • Track COVID-19 hospitalizations, including discharges, to show bed availability the moment it occurs

  • Monitor recoveries from COVID-19

  • Forecast trends, hotspots and community spread

“Now, more than ever, we need to fill interoperability gaps and bring quality data together to facilitate a highly-coordinated and effective response to the pandemic,” Jaime Bland, CEO of NEHII. “NextGate, KPI Ninja, and have been tremendous partners in helping us overcome the complexity of data silos to deliver meaningful COVID-19 data insights. The new data monitoring program augments our HIE to report accurate, knowledge-based data that informs life-saving decisions and community emergency prevention efforts at a time of unprecedented need.”

“This crisis has created a pressing need for stakeholder collaboration and has presented significant opportunities for health IT leaders to step up and help organizations respond quickly and effectively,” said Andy Aroditis, CEO of NextGate. “We are proud to be a part of this leading-edge initiative that closes information sharing gaps, accurately matches patients to their health data, and provides real-time insights for pandemic preparedness and prevention. We applaud NEHII for their vision and commitment to empower care providers and positively influence the health of Nebraskans.”

“This solution was put together in just three weeks,” said Don Woodlock, head of healthcare platforms for InterSystems. “It’s a great example of the kind of teamwork required to bring us through this pandemic, and illustrates the tremendous value of having comprehensive health information for rapid decision making.”

“This COVID-19 pandemic has allowed key partnerships and capabilities to be built at unimaginable speeds to overcome interoperability obstacles and provide a single platform for data-driven response efforts to help healthcare organizations respond quickly and effectively,” said Vineeth Yeddula, CEO of KPI Ninja.