Clinically Integrated Network

SoNE HEALTH — A Clinically Integrated Network Focused on Population Health

Southern New England Healthcare Organization (SoNE HEALTH), is a clinically integrated network (CIN) focused on population health. SoNE HEALTH is a robust network comprised of 1,700+ primary and specialty care providers, five hospitals, and 200,000 covered patient lives.

What is a CIN?

Defined as a collection of health providers (e.g. physicians, hospitals, and post-acute providers) that join together to improve care and reduce costs. As a CIN, SoNE HEALTH works in partner­ship with our member providers and the hospital partners of Trinity Health Of New England to align incentives to provide a supportive infrastructure for quality improvement and the efficient and effective delivery of healthcare services.

What is Population Health?

Defined as the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group. The management of the population is the iterative process of strategically and proactively managing clinical and financial opportunities to improve health outcomes and patient engagement while reducing costs.

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SoNE HEALTH and Trinity Health Of New England

Recognized as the region’s leader in value-based care, the SoNE HEALTH network expertly delivers value-based care, yielding higher-quality, better outcomes, and outstanding population health care management – with lower costs as compared to other health care systems in the region.

The SoNE HEALTH clinically integrated network is comprised of independent, community practices and the hospital partners of Trinity Health Of New England; world-class providers and facilities dedicated to the preventative, acute, and post-acute care, delivered with the goal to realize improved health outcomes and patient experiences, and lower costs.

A report by the Rand Corporation highlights the outstanding value of our network:

  • Connecticut employers pay 16%-24% more for the same services at other hospitals
  • Trinity Health Of New England hospitals deliver high-rated clinical care and a top-tier health experience at a significantly lower cost as compared to other hospitals in the region
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What is the difference between a CIN and an Accountable Care Organization (“ACO”)?

An ACO is an organization of providers (including physicians and hospitals) that agree to work together to be accountable for the quality, cost, and overall care of health plan participants who are enrolled and assigned to the ACO.  When providers enter into an ACO arrangement (generally a written contract), the providers’ payments are tied to care outcomes and the ability to efficiently deliver care.  To accomplish these purposes, the ACO will collaborate towards these aims.  Examples of collaboration include strategies to standardize clinical protocols, meet quality targets, coordinate care within the ACO, and increase patient engagement.  An ACO generally covers a subset of a health plan’s beneficiaries.  Commercial payers, Medicare and Medicaid, can have their plan participants covered by an ACO. 

Like an ACO, a CIN is an organization of providers working to demonstrate value by improving quality and reducing the cost of care for their patients.  However, the CIN serves as the legal foundation on which to build a variety of different arrangements, including ACOs.  In a CIN, providers actively work together and depend on each other to ensure quality and control costs across all payer arrangements.  CIN participants undertake significant activities together designed to achieve specified goals, often investing in shared infrastructure and being held accountable for specific, shared measures to help determine whether the initiatives are working. 

Trinity Health Of New England hospitals have received a comprehensive list of quality and safety awards:

  • Back-to-back “A” Grades in Safety from The Leapfrog Group
  • S. News and World Report’s designation as a “Best Regional Hospital”
  • The American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award
  • A 4-Star Rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)