Bridging the gaps between technology, research, and patient care has been an invaluable translation skill for Henry Vynalek, Senior Director of Health Information Exchange (HIE) and IT Operations and Security Officer for CliniSync, of Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP). Henry’s decade-long journey with OHIP and his extensive background in health care provides a unique perspective on the evolving landscape of HIEs.
His journey from pharmacy technician to a key player in health care IT showcases a diverse skill set and an ability to adapt and thrive in various roles.
Speaking the Right Language
Henry’s roots in health care IT run deep but it’s his background that gave him the language he needed to blend his experience and expertise for success.
After working in various health care settings, including a pharmacy, a research lab, and the Ohio State Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Henry decided to try something new and find an intersection between his interests in health and computers.
What he developed was a deep understanding of how health data is collected, processed, and shared along with the skill set to address the technology-related barriers health care workers face when providing patient care and addressing health-related issues. With this backbone, Henry has been able to effectively communicate with end-users about their needs and translate those insights into product developments that make data processes more seamless with OHIP’s CliniSync.
OHIP operates on a stakeholder-driven model, engaging over 150 hospitals across Ohio. Recognizing the diversity of needs among acute care facilities, specialty hospitals, ACOs, ambulatory facilities, reference labs, state departments, and payers, OHIP fosters regional collaborations that bring together various health care providers to address common challenges and streamline data exchange processes.
One challenge where Henry’s translational skills were put to the test was the varying preferences among providers for accessing patient data. While a comprehensive continuity of care document (CCD) seemed like the best solution for CliniSync’s upgrade on paper, the emergency care providers Henry worked with expressed a need for more granular, on-demand access to specific data points. With this insight, OHIP reassessed CliniSync’s Community Health Record (CHR) offering, providing a new use case that allowed providers to choose the method that best suited their workflow, whether it’s a comprehensive document via CCD query or detailed individual results via the CHR.
Collaborative Efforts for Forward-Looking, Accurate, Unified Data
OHIP’s success is built on collaboration. The organization works closely with a diverse range of stakeholders across Ohio to address common challenges and improve interoperability. Henry’s approach emphasizes cooperation over competition, recognizing that shared goals lead to better outcomes for all.
One critical focus for Henry is ensuring data quality at the lowest level. The accuracy of data input, especially concerning social determinants of health data, is necessary and mistakes/incorrect information can significantly impact the integrity of the entire dataset.
OHIP’s strategy involves creating a stakeholder-led data committee to put shared robust systems and operations in place to facilitate correct data entry, minimize human error, and enhance data reliability.
This collaborative effort aims to ensure that the data driving health care decisions is reliable and comprehensive to ultimately enhance the quality and accessibility of patient data across Ohio.
As CliniSync continues to grow, plans are underway to transition to a more scalable, next-generation platform. Moving some components to the cloud will further enhance scalability, ensuring that OHIP can handle increasing data volumes and maintain high-performance levels.
Engaging with Civitas in Meaningful Ways
Henry’s forward-thinking approaches and commitment to continuous improvement are sure to support this next phase for OHIP and CliniSync. Rising leaders like Henry are critical to the overall success of Civitas’ work as well, where networking, professional development, and leadership growth is helping transform the field of health information technology and health improvement.
As an active member of Civitas participating in the Emerging Leaders Forum, Henry benefits from the collective knowledge and experience of HIEs across the country, which provides opportunities to influence industry standards and collaborate with peers, recognizing the diverse needs and priorities of different states.
This October, hundreds of health IT and health improvement leaders will join Civitas for its 2024 Annual Conference centered on, “Bridging Data and Doing,” in Detroit. “The Civitas conference grants HIEs a unique opportunity for collaboration and engagement, as well as providing a forum for all members to discuss and strategize the future of health care informatics,” says Henry. Along with other OHIP team members, Henry will be joining us in Detroit—Be sure to catch up with him in person!
Henry Vynalek is a seasoned health care technology leader with more than 15 years of experience connecting and analyzing health care data for major hospitals and health care facilities across Ohio. Henry serves as the Senior Director of Health Information Exchange (HIE) and IT Operations and Security Officer for CliniSync, of Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP). He is known for his structured yet innovative approach to problem-solving and effectively bridging technical and clinical gaps to deliver practical solutions that enhance data interoperability.
We encourage you to get in touch with our team at Civitas to hear more about our work, our partners, and answer any questions you might have.
