The main focus was an iLAB assessment of iConnect, detailing its current functionality, system challenges and potential improvements. Currently, iConnect serves as a client data management and electronic visit verification system, providing information to those who receive services through APD and its provider network.
The contract for the system was initially signed in 2015, with total expenditures for the system through Fiscal Year 2023-24 totaling $19.7 million, according to APD Deputy Director Kathryn Whitehurst.
iLAB’s report focused on several components, including verification and validation of requirements, interviews with providers and APD staff, a survey targeting about 20 percent of iConnect’s user group and an efficiency study focused on various processes and workflows.
The report found several system challenges:
- Users note the system to be cumbersome due to complex processes
- The system requires excessive manual data entry requirements
- The system is unintuitive to navigate, requiring multiple steps to complete tasks
- The system does not integrate with many electronic health records systems
- Users reported various performance issues and slow response times
- The system does not have a mobile app, requiring users to access iConnect from a web browser
- Outdated system architecture makes future enhancements more difficult
- Users have noted Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance concerns, limited printing capabilities and a lack of modern user interface design features
Most system changes, however, can only be made by iConnect’s vendor, WellSky, according to Lukas Tubeck, an iConnect business operations manager for APD.
Rep. Lindsay Cross, D-60, asked panelists how much it would cost to make the system more compatible and user-friendly. iLAB CEO Jethro Lloyd responded that determining estimated costs was “not part of the scope” of iLAB’s assessment and that they had not analyzed potential upgrade costs.
Rep. Kevin Steele, R-55, asked if APD should find a new vendor. Lloyd replied that while significant technical challenges exist, a complete replacement analysis is necessary to answer the question.
Steele also asked for information about current service-level agreements with WellSky, to which Tubeck replied that critical tickets require a four-hour response time from the vendor and that regular system updates are in place.
However, one of the main concerns among panelists, including Rep. Omar Blanco, R-115, was HIPAA compliance. Blanco asked if providers use additional systems outside of iConnect. Tubeck responded that larger providers tend to use separate electronic health records systems. Blanco then asked if there were HIPAA compliance issues with iConnect, to which Tubeck responded that some access issues exist and that APD is investigating and working on these issues.
Rep. John Snyder, R-86, emphasized, “this is not about bringing forward vendors to target them out” and “it's not about bringing forward an agency to target them in any form or fashion.”
Instead, he said, “this is a great opportunity to look back at a project that was started long before any of us got here, perhaps long before those at APD got here. But this is a great opportunity to really examine the process of how our projects are planned out, how they are implemented and make sure that mistakes that have happened in the past are not repeated in the future.”
