Through its partnership with the Connecticut Health Information Exchange (Connie), the Connecticut Poison Control Center (CPCC) at UConn Health has transformed its ability to respond to toxic exposures. The data integration has enabled CPCC to access real-time clinical data, significantly reducing administrative burden while improving emergency coordination, case management, and public health surveillance.
Background: The Role of Connecticut Poison Control Center in Connecticut’s Emergency Ecosystem
The Connecticut Poison Control Center is the state’s only poison center, operating 24/7 to support hospitals, urgent care centers, EMS, and households navigating suspected toxic exposures. Staffed by board-certified medical toxicologists and trained poison information specialists, the center manages over 100 calls per day, providing evidence-based recommendations in real time.
While the CPCC has long served as a critical telehealth resource, its effectiveness was previously limited by a lack of access to real-time patient data. Toxicologists and staff often had to rely on follow-up phone calls to hospital staff, who were frequently unavailable or unable to provide lab values or updates while managing active emergencies. This created care delays and left gaps in clinical decision-making.
The Challenge: Fragmented Information and Time Lost
Before connecting to Connie, the CPCC faced multiple systemic barriers:
- Long delays in receiving critical lab values and imaging results
- Difficulty reaching hospital staff for follow-up calls
- Limited ability to track patient progression in real time
- Gaps in communication between poison center staff and bedside providers
- Incomplete or outdated information driving treatment decisions
The Solution: Real-Time Access Through Connie
By partnering with Connie, CPCC staff now have secure, direct access to:
- Lab results (e.g., thyroid panels, toxicology screens)
- Imaging reports
- Provider notes
- Discharge summaries
The Connie portal is now a daily tool used across CPCC operations, allowing staff to:
- Monitor patients across different care settings (ED, inpatient, primary care)
- Reduce reliance on phone updates
- Make more accurate treatment recommendations based on timely data
Dr. Suzanne Doyon, CPCC’s Medical Director, describes the integration as a “game changer”—offering unprecedented access to objective patient data that improves every step of care.
Outcomes and Impact
1. Reduced Follow-Up Burden
- 50% decrease in follow-up calls to hospitals
- Less time spent waiting on hold or tracking down providers
- More time allocated to patient care and toxicology review
2. Improved Provider Collaboration
- Real-time insights enable better communication between CPCC and emergency departments
- Providers can focus on bedside care, while CPCC accesses needed lab values via Connie
- Seamless coordination between the poison center, hospital staff, and outpatient providers
3. Enhanced Public Health Surveillance
- Improved access to historical and current data enhances death investigations
- CPCC can track exposure trends (e.g., opioids, synthetic cannabinoids, environmental toxins)
- Provider notes and lab histories support richer reporting for statewide surveillance
4. Scalable Model for Emergency Integration
- CPCC’s use of Connie provides a roadmap for other emergency response organizations
- The model demonstrates how HIEs can close communication gaps in crisis situations
- Other stakeholders like EMS and medical examiners can benefit from similar access
Use Case: Synthroid Overdose in a Pediatric Patient
In one common scenario, CPCC received a call about an 18-month-old who ingested multiple Synthroid pills. Thanks to Connie, CPCC staff could immediately access real-time thyroid panel results, monitor T3 and T4 levels, and collaborate with hospital staff and the child’s pediatrician. Over nine days, the team coordinated dynamic care and discharge planning, representing one of the most cohesive toxicology response cases in Dr. Doyon’s 30-year career.
But the benefits of Connie go beyond emergency intervention.
During post-incident death investigations, CPCC now has access to provider notes, cardiology consults, and nephrology input—offering a clearer picture of what happened and identifying opportunities to improve care. In one case, Dr. Doyon’s access to Connie-supported data helped her develop nationally recognized case summaries used across the country.
Looking Ahead at Connecticut’s Poison Control Approach
Building on the success of their current partnership, Connie and CPCC are exploring future enhancements:
- Automated alerts for toxicology-related labs and markers
- Integration with EMS data systems
- Use of HIE data for early detection of novel or rare exposures like botulism
Dr. Doyon emphasizes that while poison centers only know about the cases they’re contacted for, real-time data access allows them to act swiftly, reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, and potentially intervene in sentinel cases before broader outbreaks occur.
Using This as a National Model for Toxicology Response
As states continue to expand HIE infrastructure, Connecticut’s model shows how real-time clinical data can transform toxicology care. CPCC’s use of Connie has:
- Improved provider workflow
- Enhanced patient safety
- Reduced system-wide burden
- Strengthened surveillance and reporting
Dr. Doyon and her team believe every poison control center in the U.S. should have access to similar tools. Their experience makes a compelling case for investment in statewide data-sharing infrastructure as a means to improve emergency preparedness and protect public health.
You can learn more about this partnership by listening to the TechTarget podcast: “Improving poison response with statewide HIE.”
Advancing Emergency Care Through HIEs Nationwide
The collaboration between the CPCC and Connie is just one example of how HIEs are transforming emergency response by delivering timely, actionable data where and when it matters most. Across the Civitas Networks for Health membership, HIEs are enabling similar breakthroughs in toxicology, overdose prevention, environmental health monitoring, disaster response, and more.
Whether addressing statewide public health threats or sharing data across regions during a crisis, HIEs play a critical role in connecting the dots between patients, providers, public health officials, and emergency support systems. Their infrastructure helps reduce fragmentation, accelerate care coordination, and inform evidence-based interventions, all while reducing the burden on frontline clinicians.
As the nation continues to face complex health challenges, scalable models like this one in Connecticut show that investment in community-centric, real-time data infrastructure is essential.
To learn more about Civitas’ HIE members and how they’re powering data-driven care across the country, reach out to the Civitas team at contact [at] civitasforhealth.org – we are happy to connect you with an HIE in your area of the country.