Podcasts about commonwell health alliance

The creation of the not-for-profit CommonWell Health Alliance in 2013 was a turning point for data use and interoperability in the U.S. health care market. Many of the largest EHR vendors, clinicians, and others came together to cooperate on carrying out the mission of the HITECH act and the foundations for value-based care.This video interviews Paul L Wilder, Executive Director, and Liz Lewis, Director of Product, at CommonWell Health Alliance. They talk about the increase in the size of health care documentation, the Alliance's increasing integration of payers, the importance of patient access to records, and more.Learn more about CommonWell Health Alliance: https://www.commonwellalliance.org/Health IT Community: https://www.healthcareittoday.com/

What if I told you that in 2025, the way we access and exchange healthcare data will be fundamentally different?   For years, we've talked about interoperability—but now, we're seeing it take shape. Nearly 40% of the CommonWell network and most Q-HINs are responding to patient access requests, opening the door to a new era of seamless, secure, and patient-driven data exchange.   Paul L. Wilder, Executive Director of CommonWell Health Alliance, joins Eric to explore the future of healthcare data and the evolving landscape of healthcare interoperability. Learn about the CommonWell Marketplace, how patient access to data is improving, the increasing role of FHIR, and the critical aspects of trust and AI in healthcare. Paul provides key insights to help you and your organization position yourself for success.   This episode was recorded live at ViVE 2025 in Nashville.    About CommonWell   CommonWell is a not-for-profit interoperability advocate and Qualified Health Information Network under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), which facilitates the secure exchange of patient data across more than 36,000 provider sites, representing over 238 million individuals nationwide. CommonWell has enabled the exchange of more than 7.7 billion healthcare records. Visit https://www.commonwellalliance.org/.   About Paul Paul is leading the organization as it enters a new chapter in its pursuit of empowering clinicians, practitioners and individuals with interoperability services via its robust, nationwide network. With more than two decades of experience in health IT, Paul has held various roles focusing on imaging, clinical informatics, and interoperability.   Before joining CommonWell, Paul was Vice President of Strategy & Business Development for Philips Interoperability Solutions. He also spent close to 10 years with one of the largest regional HIE networks in the world, the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC)—serving as its Chief Information Officer, Vice President of Product Management and Program Director for NYeC's Regional Extension Center. During his time with the NYeC, he helped nearly 10,000 primary care providers attest to Meaningful Use and solidified the state's status as one of the national leaders in health IT adoption. Each role enabled him to work and hear directly from providers and end-users of Electronic Health Records (EHRs)—which gives him an important perspective as a leader in health IT adoption and execution.   Paul received his Master of Business Administration from New York University, with a concentration in Finance and Operations. He also holds two bachelor's degrees from the University of Pennsylvania: one from the College of Arts and Sciences in Economics and the other from the School of Engineering and Applied Science in Biomedical Science. Paul lives in the New York area with his wife, two daughters and their newest family member, their dog Penny.   Bright Spots in Healthcare is produced by Bright Spots Ventures   Bright Spots Ventures brings healthcare leaders together to share working solutions or "bright spots" to common challenges. We build valuable and meaningful relationships through our Bright Spots in Healthcare podcast, webinar series, leadership councils, customized peer events, and sales and go-to-market consulting. We believe finding a bright spot and cloning it is the most effective strategy to improve healthcare in our lifetime.   Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com  

For the past 20 years, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the ONC has played a pivotal role shaping and regulating the health tech market. On the eve of the election, Micky Tripathi joined me to discuss the agency's recently expanded role. Now, two months later—though it feels like a decade—the future is uncertain. Will the ONC and ASTP continue as market regulators and opportunity catalysts, or is a new direction on the horizon?Here's what we covered:The government's role in shaping and regulating the health tech ecosystemAI in healthcare: balancing the risks of misuse vs. the risk of “missed uses” Health information sharing: why Micky is optimistic about the future Can technology take the pain out of prior auth?Micky thinks we are standing on the edge of a transformative era:“We are just at the beginning of the most exciting decade...health information technology can really start to show… the return on investment for patients. We've done a lot of hard work over the last 10 years… [With that foundation in place] we have the opportunity to say there's an ROI here for patients.”Relevant LinksBlog post on ONC reorganization: ONC's Next ChapterTEFCA overviewForbes interview: Where is interoperability headed?Healthcare Dive: HHS AI Task Force Takes Shape (March 2024)Blog post by Micky: Getting real about information blocking and APIs (October 2024)About Our GuestMicky Tripathi is the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and Acting Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he leads the formulation of HHS technology and data strategy and coordinates technology policies, standards, programs, and investments.Dr. Tripathi has over 20 years of experience across the health IT landscape. Prior to joining the federal government he served as Chief Alliance Officer for Arcadia, a health care data and software company focused on population health management and value-based care, the project manager of the Argonaut Project, an industry collaboration to accelerate the adoption of FHIR, and a board member of HL7, the Sequoia Project, the CommonWell Health Alliance, and the CARIN Alliance.Dr. Tripathi served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC), a non-profit health IT advisory and clinical data analytics company. He was also the founding President and CEO of the Indiana Health Information Exchange, a statewide HIE partnered with the Regenstrief Institute, an Executive Advisor to investment firm LRVHealth, and a Fellow at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.He holds a PhD in political science from the Massachusetts...

At HIMSS, we sat down to talk with CommonWell Health Alliance to learn about their passion for interoperability and some of the latest happenings with the CommonWell community. This included an update on CommonWell's new technical service provider, ELLKAY and their recent designation by the federal government as a Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN). CommonWell was formed 11 years from a consortium of major EHR vendors to carry out the mandate for interoperable data exchange in the HITECH and Affordable Care acts. As Executive Director Paul L Wilder points out, they are a “switchboard” through which clients can find patient data, but CommonWell doesn't maintain any patient data itself (unlike, for instance, many health information exchanges). Along with these important updates, we also asked Liz Buckle, Director of Product at CommonWell Health Alliance, to talk about their work on CommonWell 2.0 and their journey to TEFCA. Plus, Buckle shares with us a bit about how they're approaching FHIR and what role that's going to play for CommonWell going forward. Learn more about CommonWell Health Alliance: https://www.commonwellalliance.org/ Health IT Community: https://www.healthcareittoday.com/

One of the biggest networks for sharing health data in the country is CommonWell Health Alliance.  After some changes in the industry and some acquisitions, CommonWell was in need of a new technical service provider to continue their interoperability work and to finish their work to become a QHIN under TEFCA.  After a thorough evaluation process, CommonWell just announced the selection of ELLKAY as their new technical service provider. This is big news for CommonWell and ELLKAY (who is also a member of CommonWell) and is an important step forward for both organizations.  To better understand how this partnership came together, what it means for both organizations, and the impact on its members, I sat down to talk with Paul L Wilder, Executive Director at CommonWell Health Alliance, Ajay Kapare, President & Chief Strategy Officer at ELLKAY, Gurpreet ‘GP' Singh, Vice President of Interoperability Solutions at ELLKAY. Learn more about CommonWell Health Alliance: https://www.commonwellalliance.org/ Learn more about ELLKAY: https://www.ellkay.com/ Health IT Community: https://www.healthcareittoday.com/

Join us for an enlightening interview with Paul Wilder, the Executive Director of CommonWell Health Alliance. In this insightful podcast, we delve into the world of healthcare interoperability and the challenges faced by the industry. Paul shares his expertise on bridging the gaps between different health systems, improving patient data accessibility, and fostering collaboration among healthcare stakeholders. Discover the latest advancements and initiatives aimed at achieving seamless healthcare data exchange. Host: Saankhya

Paul L Wilder, Executive Director of the CommonWell Health Alliance and Liz Buckle, Director of Product, discuss CommonWell's vision, achievements, and plans for the future.  Plus, Wilder shares what he was hearing about the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) at the HIMSS 2023 annual conference and offers up a few takeaways.  Buckle also shares her experience at the Interop Showcase and details of the recent CommonWell FHIR Connectathon where CommonWell members leveraged FHIR to improve interoperability. FHIR, the API for automated data sharing, is mature and being adopted. This more recent standard makes trust automatable as well. To describe the current situation in health care, Wilder asked us to imagine if a retailer had to call your bank every time you made a credit card purchase. Wilder also dove into his experience with HIEs and how connectivity is key to public health and in preparation for future pandemics or other emergencies.  Buckle shared her experience from working for a founding member of CommonWell to becoming a full time employee in her role as Director of Product.  She aptly pointed out the importance of ensuring women and other diverse voices are in these efforts for the simple reason that we are all consumers of healthcare. She also pointed out how encouraging it was to see an even split of men and women in a meeting with candidate QHINs and federal partners. Wilder added that it is usually the mothers who carry the burden of tracking and managing health journeys for their family. The mom is the one who knows how hard it is to access elusive data and how important data sharing is. Learn more about CommonWell Health Alliance: https://www.commonwellalliance.org/ Find more great health IT content: https://www.healthcareittoday.com/

Host Tom Foley invites Paul Wilder, Executive Director at CommonWell Health Alliance, one of the first 6 organizations to be selected as QHIN status under TEFCA. Paul discusses what and why TEFCA for healthcare interoperability and what and how QHINs will play a role. Also who will participate in TEFCA and why we need everyone to adopt this for all health data. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play Healthcare NOW Radio.” Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

Pooja Babbrah, Pharmacy & PBM lead with Point-of-Care Partners (POCP), NCPDP Board of Trustees Chair, and host of The Dish on Health IT kicked off the episode. This last episode of 2022 featuring POCP Regulatory Resource lead, Kim Boyd and Payer & Provider Practice Lead and Da Vinci Program Manager, Jocelyn Keegancame together to break down all the big things that have happened in 2022 and what we expect for 2023. Pooja explained that while this episode's discussion will primarily be policy related, the panelists will also talk about some of the real progress being made in the standards world and the interconnectedness between federal and state health IT policy and legislation and between standards and policy, and what it means to the industry. Pooja asked Jocelyn and Kim to briefly introduce themselves and to tell the audience what topics they are most excited about discussing. Jocelyn introduced herself as the POCP payer practice lead, devoted to positive change and building/getting stuff done. She went on to say that her focus at POCP is on interoperability, prior authorizations, and the convergence of tech, standards, and product strategy. She explained that she has spent her career moving people and organizations towards APIs, unleashing data for their highest, best-purpose uses. She expressed that she couldn't be more excited about where we've been this year and the precipice of where we are headed next year.Kim expressed that it's always a pleasure convening with Pooja and Jocelyn to discuss the exciting world of health IT.  She went on to share her background which has spanned medical and pharmacy operations and implementations, with years of policy, industry, and standards development work on ePA, cost transparency, ePrescribing, and taking what she learned in these areas to work with policymakers on smart policies to advance interoperability and patient care.  Kim stated that it has been an exciting year leading POCP's Regulatory Resource Center and that so much is happening in the state and federal regulatory spaces that ties to the innovations and acceleration the industry has been experiencing in health care.   Pooja thanked them both for their introductions and then dug into the discussion by asking each of them to share the biggest Health IT highlights of 2022. Kim explained that four things really stand out in 2022:the requirements of the transparency in coverage and no surprises act going into effect and the various provisions requiring data and cost transparency and giving patients and their care teams access to information that will help them make informed decisions.  Many in the industry have been clamoring for transparency of this type for some time.The incredible work happening to advance interoperability via the SDOs and Accelerators, like HL7 Da Vinci, CodeX, FAST, and NCPDP's Pharmacy Technology and Innovations group. how Federal agencies are collaborating on aligning requirements for interoperability, like the use of standards and FHIR-based standards specifically. This collaboration and proceeding regulatory action will help align the technical and interoperability stars.  the all-hands-on-deck focus on patient health equity is a big area of concentration for not only innovators in the market but the White House, HHS, standards organizations like NCPDP and HL7, and community and public health organizations.  There is just so much happening to try and close gaps in equitable care and the data/digital transformation that needs to happen to help facilitate change.     Jocelyn followed Kim to share her perspective on the biggest highlights of 2022 first joking that Kim got to go first and steal some of the things she was going to say.She laughingly shared that she agrees with all of Kim's points and then said that she wanted to focus more on the tone and the tenor of the work happening in the industry. Jocelyn shared that from her perspective it feels as though the industry has moved from thinking about interoperability projects as something that will happen "someday" to action and reality.  She clarified that this may not be the case for everyone, but many organizations and projects are moving forward to not only do the IT work but the business transformation. The examples she gave included the real progress made on TEFCA, real-world deployments of FHIR guides, live usage of APIs, prior authorization (PA) on pharmacy getting an infusion with last year's Medicare Part DJocelyn added that she wanted to focus on and add to Kim's comment about coordination at the federal level. She explained that policymakers at the federal level have been working for well over a decade and using their levers to make change extraordinarily well.  Jocelyn went on to say that as she sees it there are three camps of folks; people and organizations who are working ahead of policy by paying attention to published roadmaps and reading between the lines of public statements, folks trying to get their organizations prepared to respond to the next wave of policy, and others playing the waiting game to see if it's real and if they'll have to follow or if another path will emerge. Finally, she added, that the last highlight from 2022 is all the waiting! The industry keeps waiting for certain regulations to drop. She explained that she doesn't think she remembers another year where there has been this much policy anticipation at year-end. Pooja thanked Jocelyn and Kim for sharing their perspectives. She shared two important topics that have been more under the radar but are growing in importance and focus. The first is consent, specifically eConsent. Stewards of change published the report “Modernizing Consent to Advance Health and Equity” to bring more attention to the need to solve this issue – not only in the context of healthcare but also social services as those are such an important tie-in to health outcomes.  Add to that, the ONC half-day discovery workshop on eConsent.  Pooja explained to those who may not have attended – that it was an amazing session that brought together so many different people across the continuum of care in addition to the people working in the social services arena.The other area is pharmacy and the growing role of pharmacists in the care team and the work that is being done to ensure that they have access to more data and information to support care teams and support patients.  Pooja explained that there has been a lot of movement by retail chains to add primary care services to their offering and community pharmacies are supporting more clinical services.  This has led to more focus and a flurry of discussion around interoperability in the pharmacy space. Pooja gave the example of the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) recently proposing adding a pharmacy-focused subcommittee which is a huge indicator. Pooja shifted the discussion to policy highlights, specifically, requirements that went into effect and whether the industry met the deadlines or is still working on it. She explained that she is thinking specifically of: No Surprises ActTransparency in Coverage RuleInformation BlockingKim jumped in by saying that with the No Surprises Act there is still some pushback and uncertainty about how providers are going to comply with having to pull together all the data to provide Advanced EOBs (AEOBs) and good faith estimates (GFEs) when there are multiple providers involved in delivering the expected care; however, the Da Vinci Project is working on advancing implementation guidance to support patient cost transparency. Kim encouraged folks and organizations listening to this episode to get involved in these efforts. Kim added that she expects to see more price transparency-related policies, especially given the latest request for information on AEOBs. Kim went on to say that compliance with the ONC 21st Century Cures Final Rule on information blocking has been a mixed bag. She added that she wished ONC had called this "information sharing" instead of information blocking. Kim went on to say that most of the non-compliance has been on the provider side because it is challenging when a provider falls under the rule as an actor but maybe the health system they work in does not, especially when the health system may hold the data being requested. She added that most of the EHRs have spoken with are up-to-speed on the full EHI sharing requirement. Jocelyn added her perspective on information sharing specifically around EHI. Technically all of this information needs to be put out there, while the industry waits for USCDI to fully encapsulate patient information, there is probably a lot of non-codified data in the system that isn't actionable or really useable. The EHR certification requirements will likely do more to move the industry forward.  Jocelyn confessed that she fell down the RFI response rabbit hole and spent an hour looking at the feedback to the RFIs.  She thinks there is a disconnect between the goal of the rule and how to operationally do the work. An example she provided was around PA and that it isn't automating the submission of the PA alone but how to automate the 10 steps that need to happen before a PA is submitted. Pooja shifted the conversation to ask Kim to talk a little about the state activity around price transparency and why it's so important for stakeholders to pay attention not only to federal policy but what's happening in the states.Kim agreed that so many organizations forget that state policy is a big part of the equation too.  She shared that on the data and cost transparency side, states doubling down to move the needle on data fluidity. The POCP Regulatory Resource center has its finger on this pulse.  From the required patient-specific cost, benefit, coverage, and eligibility data sharing to confirmation of compliance enforcement of the No Surprises Act and Hospital Transparency, just to name a few.Pooja concurred and added that many people forget the states can add enforcement teeth above and beyond federal enforcement. She then remarked that this has been a year of anticipation and asked Kim to share where the burden reduction and prior authorization rule that was shelved back in 2020 is currently. Kim responded by explaining that there has been so much anticipation and even angst for some when the original rule came out in 2020 but then was pulled back.So many in the industry have been endeavoring to fulfill the promise the Da Vinci CRD, DTR, PAS IGs provide on solving for medical PA. Probably the most promising sign from CMS is the rule sitting at OMB since mid-October, waiting for review and then ultimately release. Given OMB has a max of 90 days to take action on the review, health plans, vendors, providers, and their partners should be closely monitoring for OMBs response and action.   Jocelyn joined in to say that the rule that came out in 2020 was definitely more than just burden reduction and it would have codified the use of patient-access APIs. She added that the 2020 rule didn't just require FHIR but named a particular implementation guide or "recipe" for the industry to use. Jocelyn anticipates that the version of the rule that has reemerged and is sitting with OMB likely includes Medicare Advantage plans which weren't included in the 2020 version. She's really interested to see what the NPRM will include. Jocelyn added that there is legislation pending that includes prior authorization and many are hoping the proposed rule drops before the legislation passes. Pooja thanked Jocelyn for bringing up the pending legislation and then moved on to ask about the recent CMS requests for information out there. She asked about what kinds of questions is the government asking and what do these questions tell us about where their heads are at? Jocelyn started by saying that the industry is seeing an unprecedented amount of coordination and policy-making activity. It has been a challenge to marshall the resources to respond to these RFIs and participate in the conversations and discussions these RFIs generate. Clearly, the industry is leading and the RFIs are an indication that CMS and ONC want industry input into their policymaking. Jocelyn went on to say that after reviewing the comments to these RFIs, the common themes were that the industry needs time and an incremental approach is needed but no one is saying what is being explored can't be accomplished. Kim added that she was struck by how aligned the agencies releasing these RFIs seemed to be on solving for interoperability, digitization, using/reusing or referencing FHIR resources for use and across different areas of health care, from the public health infrastructure, TEFCA, Certification of HIT, PAs and more, even the RFI from CMS related to the National Directory wants to hear from health care on the applicability of the use of FHIR standards. In transition, Pooja remarked that POCP and everyone on the podcast work in the standards development space through the support of some of the Accelerators like FAST, CodeX, CARIN Alliance, and of course, Da Vinci. She asked for the discussion to now cover the biggest accomplishments so far and what's expected in 2023. Kim responded by saying that while not officially announced, the CodeX PA in Oncology Use case – focused on solving for automating PA for cancer patients using the Da Vinci IGs is progressing to the Execution Phase. Members represented in this use case are payers, EHRs, physician groups, and health systems and they have collaboratively moved the needle on this use case and will execute the proof of concept for prostate cancer in 2023. Kim added that she is proud that NCPDP for their October Pilot launch announcement of the National Facilitator Model to strengthen pandemic and epidemic preparedness using industry standards and technology to enable pharmacies, prescribers, and government agencies to access real-time information on prescription, testing, immunization, and related data – across state lines - to support patient health interventions during public health crises. The model can also be used to effectively support public health surveillance.Jocelyn chimed in to express her awe at the pace of work on IGs and new use cases. She added that another big milestone is that FHIR at Scale Taskforce (FAST) transitioned out of ONC into the HL7 Accelerator program. FAST progressed work on Security, Identity, and Exchange and they are pulling the TEFCA team in to align their work. She added that Da Vinci has made a lot of progress on Risk Adjustment, allowing payers and providers to share information to inform a change in a patient's risk status. Jocelyn went on to say that there are also some exciting real-world implementations happening with a specific shout out to the team comprised of MultiCare, Providence, Regence, leadership from Optum, and Da Vinci champions launching the first in the nation FHIR-based pre-authorization embedded into the clinical workflow. Pooja seconded the kudos for the NPCPD vaccine pilot and she also mentioned the CodeX REMS use case which is marching toward a pilot and is once again bringing NCPDP and HL7 together. Pooja went on to recognize Helios as an Accelerator that is starting to gain traction and the industry should pay attention to their work. Pooja commented that while price and cost transparency for the patient will always be a passion of mine, the growing role of pharmacists in the care team is another area she is really excited about. Additional services are being performed by pharmacists, the prescribing authority is being extended to pharmacists, and the need for standards and technology to enable clinical data to flow from pharmacists to care team members in other environments like doctors' offices and hospitals. Pooja continued by saying that the pandemic and really the Federal PREP act accelerated this movement.  Now pharmacists can administer pretty much any vaccine on CDC's list, and there are around 25 states that allow pharmacists to prescribe HIV medications. Pooja explained that this expanding role and some of the regulatory requirements make pharmacy interoperability and connection with the rest of the care team critical. For example, for pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid, they must order or access labs for the patients.  Unless pharmacists are in a health system they will likely not have access to a patient's lab report.  If the industry wants pharmacists to continue to support providers and patients with more clinical services – there has to be a focus on interoperability. Kim agreed that it is an exciting time for the pharmacy community.  The need for clinical and administrative data access, use, storage, and exchange to improve and coordinate patient care knows no boundaries – the whole of the care team, including the pharmacist, must be able to operate in an environment where this takes place.  Kim added that the NCPDP Strategic Planning Committee Value-Based Care Subcommittee acknowledged that the industry is well positioned to support pharmacists as a part of a value-based arrangement and we have the standards to support all types of clinical care and exchange so pharmacists can provide services like dispensing, screening for Social Determinants of Health or taking and reporting labs or blood pressure, etc.   2023 will be filled with opportunities within the NCPDP standards development process, the industry, and policy, to further the role of the pharmacist, closing gaps in care and the innovations needed for the future of pharmacists as part of the care team.Pooja asked to do a round-robin weigh-in on TEFCA, HIPAA 2.0, and Health Equity. What's new, what's real, and what should our listeners be on the lookout for in 2023? Jocelyn responded by saying that each of these topics has so many sub-topics and what will be interesting is to see how these all intersect with one another. She added that there is a movement to the platform where companies are partnering to solve some of the challenges related to these areas and make data fluid but secure. Kim responded by saying that there is still confusion and conflict between HIPAA and the ONC Information blocking rules.  Technology has evolved and new interpretations and requirements are needed that provide patient data security without limiting data sharing.  The industry will see some movement from OCR in 2023.TEFCA is real and moving forward in establishing the infrastructure model and rules that will govern how different networks and their stakeholders (including providers, payers, and public health) securely share clinically relevant information with each other. Nine organizations have provided letters of intent to the Sequoia Project, the recognized coordinating entity on behalf of ONC, to apply to become QHINs including EHR vendors such as Epic and Nextgen, national networks such as the eHealth Exchange and the CommonWell Health Alliance, and tech vendors such as Health Gorilla. More organizations are expected to apply. It will be interesting to see how successful TEFCA will be in incorporating FHIR into the framework over the next few years There is a united effort that includes government entities, health systems, pharmaceutical companies, private payer groups, and community organizations working together to overcome disparities and improve equity. This requires improved access to shared clinical and social needs data. Just last week CMS released its “Path Forward to improving data to advance health equity solutions” which aims to increase the collection of standardized sociodemographic and social determinants of health (SDOH) data across the healthcare industry as an important first step towards improving population In closing, Pooja asked everyone to share what they are most hopeful to see in 2023. She kicked it off by saying that for her it's the continued focus on pharmacists. Kim responded by saying many great things are happening in health care and that she is excited as a patient. There is more focus on helping patients grow as consumers of their own health care, providing data and insights into what options are available to obtain quality, timely and cost-effective care. She also expressed excitement about working with industry and policymakers to advance medical ePA in 2023 via the HL7 Da Vinci standards and leading the CodeX work on a pilot to advance PA for cancer patients. She concluded by echoing what Pooja said about her excitement about leading and partnering with others at NCPDP to promote and advance the role of the pharmacist as a part of the care team. Jocelyn joined in to say that she is hopeful for the momentum that has built up and she is super excited to see stakeholders build their toolboxes and embark on real-world implementations. Pooja closed out the episode by thanking her POCP cohosts, Jocelyn and Kim, and wishing our audience the happiest of holidays and the best for 2023. She reminded listeners that they can find The Dish on Health IT on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or whatever platform they use to pick up their podcasts, including HealthcareNOW Radio and the Podcast Channel. And that videos of the podcast episodes can be found o on the POCP YouTube channel. Adding, Health IT is a dish best served Hot! 

For the last two years, Prima CARE, a medical practice with more than a dozen locations in Southeastern Massachusetts, has been using healow Insights PRISMA to improve patient care. A secure, bidirectional interface allows practices to exchange patient information from any available internal or external network or hospital in the area or across the nation that participates in the CommonWell Health Alliance or Carequality networks. Relevant clinical information is available more quickly and effectively that ever, and all in one place. Data are also available to satisfy audits by insurance companies, which no longer need to visit the practice, but can conduct those audits electronically.

As we continue to learn about how the industry is responding to TEFCA and which organizations are planning to apply to be a QHIN, we thought it would be valuable to sit down with CommonWell and a CommonWell member, MEDITECH, to learn more about their thoughts on TEFCA and CommonWell's choice to apply to be a QHIN. In the video interview below, Mike Cordeiro, Director Interoperability Market and Product Strategy at MEDITECH, and Paul Wilder, Executive Director of CommonWell Health Alliance share their insights on these important topics. Learn more about CommonWell: https://www.commonwellalliance.org/ Learn more about MEDITECH: https://ehr.meditech.com/ Find more great health IT content: https://www.healthcareittoday.com/

Host Jim Tate talks to Paul L Wilder, Executive Director of CommonWell Health Alliance, leading the organization as it enters a new chapter in its pursuit of empowering clinicians, practitioners and individuals with interoperability services via its robust, nationwide network. With more than two decades of experience in health IT, Paul has held various roles focusing on imaging, clinical informatics, and interoperability. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play HealthcareNOW Radio”. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

Jonathon Feit, co-founder and CEO of Beyond Lucid Technologies & Consulting joins The Dish on Health IT hosts, Ken Kleinberg, Pooja Babbrah and special guest host Ed Daniels to talk about the role of emergency services (EMS) in the healthcare ecosystem now and in the future and how EMS fits into healthcare's interoperability journey. The hosts, Ken Kleinberg and Pooja Babbrah briefly introduced themselves. Guest host, Ed Daniels introduced himself by saying that the majority of his career has been spent on interoperability, data exchange and HIEs. Ed was a volunteer firefighter for 14 years and is currently working on the development of a multi-stakeholder collaborative on eConsent which is why this discussion was of particular interest to him. Jonathon then introduced himself explaining that he is not a field practitioner or first responder. He shared that he joined the military after September 11, 2001 but discovered that his Tourette's syndrome disqualified him from service, which led him to find another way to serve. He decided to leverage his skills as a technologist to solve problems related to data exchange to support EMS and first responders. Beyond Lucid, the company Jonathon co-founded is focused on solving these issues. Right now, Beyond Lucid spends half of their day in the world of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), EMS, critical care both ground and air, the other half of the day is in the world of electronic health records (EHRs) focusing on things like patient matching. Beyond Lucid is currently running the Oregon Portable Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) registry from a technology standpoint and are branching into pediatrics and medical complexities. What Jonathon finds interesting about this work is identifying what field providers do and what they need. Using end of life medical orders as an example, Jonathon pointed out that there is really a 0% margin of error. If someone has indicated in their records that they don't want to be resuscitated but first responders are unaware of these records, the patient's wishes may not be followed. Another aspect of data exchange from the field to health systems so that data captured in the field can be incorporated into the patient's record fast enough for it to be useful in how the patient is cared for in the emergency room (ER). The future of Beyond Lucid is focused on car crashes, winning a patent on a system to gather crash intelligence about the passengers such as number of passengers, whether children are in the car, or special medical needs of passengers such as hemophilia. There are mission critical pieces of data that need to be exchanged in real-time. What prompted Jonathon to reach out to Point-of-Care Partners initially was the episode of the Dish on Health IT about social determinants of health (SDOH) because it highlighted patient data that helped look at patients as people. SDOH is important to providing holistic care. Host, Ken Kleinberg asked for a little more context of how EMS fits in the overall healthcare ecosystem, asking specifically about how EMS has historically been billed separately from other healthcare services as transport. Mr Feit explained that yes, it's true that EMS is billed as transport is many places but it's a yes with an asterisk because things are changing due to COVID. He explained that you really have to look more broadly to federal laws and how EMS is regarded. For example, up until the last 18 months, CMS regarded EMS as a supplier to healthcare, not a provider. This impacts not only how services are billed but related to interoperability rules as well.  Meaningful use doesn't apply to EMS which is a big problem because EMS uses a different data set that falls under the department of transportation and not Health and Human Services (HHS). He added that EMS is the most expensive taxi ride you'll ever take. With the exception of one value-based care experiment happening now, EMS services are generally billed on a per mile basis and the rate is cost adjusted based on the experience level of the driver and the severity of the patient. EMS is emerging as a central part of safety net care in rural spaces where there aren't enough doctors to serve the population and the fact that it's a service available 24/7. Viewing EMS as a provider is a critical distinction that's starting to change. Ed agreed with how Jonathon characterized the current view of EMS in healthcare generally and in regulation. Ed explained that historically, ambulances were intended to just get the patient into the hospital as soon as possible but it's changed drastically over the years with life-saving services being performed on site and in transit. Ambulances are no longer just transport but definitely a provider situation. It's time for a change in how this type of care is provided and being billed and reimbursed.Ken observed that it would be a real problem if the patient was charged in hospital for how far they were pushed in a wheelchair from their room to get a test. Ken then asked Pooja if there was a parallel between how pharmacists have transitioned to be part of the care team as opposed to an adjunct service. Pooja responded that she does see some parallels and mentioned reading a CMS blog post by Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and other CMS leaders that discussed the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) which explored 50 alternative payment models to fee for service. While only a handful were considered successful, the ones that had some success had mandates to back them up. Pooja added that she thinks that just as the payment model in pharmacy is being revisited, the payment and reimbursement model for EMS should be re-examined as well. Ed added that another scenario where the pay for transport model for EMS just doesn't make sense is when a patient maybe just needs to get emergency care at home but doesn't need to be transported to the hospital. The current reimbursement structure doesn't allow for this. Jonathon pointed out that there is currently an “allergy” in the mobile medical arena to good data. He went on to clarify that when you mention CMS, where they have extremely wonky geeks who are truly good at their job, people forget they need fuel for their work, they need data. Jonathon went onto explain that when creating mandates versus voluntary guidance, you really need not just data but good data to back that up and see what is working and what's not. Right now, entering in information about a patient encounter by EMS staff isn't a priority because there isn't an understanding of how good data could transform things for the better. EMS has so much catching-up to do. Jonathon added that this lack of good data problem isn't unique to EMS by any means but it's an issue that needs to be tackled for us to see real change. Jonathon explained that part of the reason he reached out to Point-of-Care Partners was because he felt we provide a breadth of perspective to these issues in healthcare that reflects the bigger picture. He added that when docs talk to other docs or nurses and EMS techs to talk to Fire fighters, they aren't hearing from outside their environment to gain that broader perspective and close the gaps in understanding about their role in the ecosystem. He continued to say that we need to make the case why it's so important to get good data into the system and for that data to be fluid across environments. Ken interjected and said that now that the now we're getting into the interoperability part of the conversation, he wanted to ask about the system that's generally used by EMS called The National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) and asked if it was connected to EHRs.Jonathon responded that NEMSIS is separate and therefore and unequal data set maintained through the National Highway Safety Administration. It has a rich history of tracking data for car crashes and heart attacks while driving which Jonathon admitted was a gross over-simplification. There is a way for NEMSIS to connect to EHRs but there hasn't been education and discussion from the federal level down to the state, county and regional level on why the data and connecting to EHRs matters. Beyond Lucid was awarded a project in California back in 2015 to build the bridge between NEMSIS using HL7 standards like CCD. Beyond Lucid completed a gap analysis to understand what it would take to go from one to the other. What they found was an 85% overlap between what was required in the EMS system and the HL7 CCD. The 15% gap fell largely in 3 buckets including family history, past encounters and mental health which is very similar to SDOH. There are efforts to plug this hole with real-time data. Jonathon added that there are other efforts giving an example the largest fire service in Southern Denver, Colorado which was the first to send real-time data to Sentara health system in 2018 which shows it can be done, however, Jonathon added that health systems and EMS aren't doing a good job of talking with each other about their respective needs. Ken asked Jonathon to talk about Beyond Lucid being one, if not the first EMS IT vendor to join the Commonwell Health Alliance and whether they are now getting some SDOH data from HIEs. Jonathon explained that about 2 years ago at the National Association of State EMS officials, there was an outcry for SDOH and contextual data. Up until then this demand was mostly at the local level. Beyond Lucid volunteered to be the vendor to make this possible and develop a superset of data and has announced this capability to populate SDOH data for 911 calls. This project made a lightbulb go off for those involved on why this data should be a separate data set when it really should be integrated in the overall record. Jonathon explained that strong ID is really important because especially when you're looking at end of life orders, you want to make sure you're looking at the right patient. Unfortunately, a lot of initiatives required affirmative permission from he patient to look them up but the problem is that this doesn't work in the back of an ambulance. Ultimately the trust framework is critical but right now there is so much dirty data. Jonathon went on to say that now that FHIR V4 has been balloted and approved and Carequality/Sequoia was awarded the trust framework project, it seems progress is being made and EMS is finally at the table. Ken asked Pooja to provide her perspective on how EMS might use SDOH and eConsent and advanced care directives. Pooja shared that when you think about the knowledge first responders gain about a patient's living situation and environmental challenges, it makes sense that they could contribute valuable SDOH data that could be used downstream. It's about time the industry start looking at how the data going into EMS systems can be shared along the care continuum. Jonathon interjected that it's also important for police to have access to some of this information and that Beyond Lucid has helped create a database of medically complex children so police know if they are interacting with someone that perhaps is non-verbal so can't explain their situation or who can't follow verbal commands. Without this information Police encounters can end tragically. Encounter data really needs to flow throughout healthcare and also community services. Ken re-focused the conversation on eConsent. Ed shared that he is working on an initiative now on how to get electronic informed consent and advanced directives. It's a very complicated question and there isn't one answer. Ken began to close out the podcast by asking Jonathon if there was any last topic he'd like to cover suggesting perhaps something about COVID and vaccines since Jonathon had mentioned this in conversations prior to the podcast. Jonathon responded that he knows vaccines can be controversial and really he isn't talking about vaccinations per se but it's important to talk about interoperability and data quality and that for many years vaccination registries didn't talk to each other or couldn't be accessed by providers. This is important in the context of when you're planning to hold someone to account on getting vaccinated and proving they've been vaccinated. Jonathon posed the question that shouldn't there be a single source of truth rather than asking people to hold onto a little card? If we get the smart people in the room to solve these problems, we can make so much progress. Pooja added that in her role on the NCPDP board, they've had many conversations about how to use existing standards to create a central source of truth. Pooja explained that she's glad we were able to have this important discussion. 

Tushar Malhotra, Director for Interoperability Strategy and Business Development at eClinicalWorks discusses how they help providers improve interoperability, have greater access to live data, the Carequality and CommonWell Health Alliance networks, and securely exchange over 50 million records per month with other practices and hospitals. He talks about why the liberation of data is essential, and the strategies to meet this need as the next step for the U.S. healthcare system. Tushar Malhotra, Director for Interoperability Strategy and Business Development at eClinicalWorks has more than a decade of experience in Healthcare IT industry and is responsible for defining solutions and services for integrating eClinicalWorks EMR with disparate systems and applications. In his current role, Tushar is overseeing the deployment of Commonwell Health Alliance, Carequality Interoperability Framework and FHIR suite of products for eClinicalWorks customers and works on defining the interoperability roadmap with respect to these nationwide initiatives to improve data exchange between patients, providers and third party applications. He serves on the Commonwell Board and Steering committees for Carequality and Argonaut project. Tushar has a Master's Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Massachusetts Amherst and Masters in Business Administration from Bentley University. #eClinicalWorks

Dr. Martha Rodriguez, founder of MMR Healthcare discusses interoperability and her firsthand experience of using data to improve both practice outcomes and patient experience. She talks about her use of eClinicalWorks who helps providers improve interoperability and have greater access to data, giving them access to live data, giving them access to Carequality and CommonWell Health Alliance networks, and securely exchanging over 50 million records per month with other practices and hospitals. As a well-established primary care physician in Boynton Beach, Florida, Dr. Martha Rodriguez has sculpted a foundation of medicine that prioritizes coordination of care. As a child, Dr. Rodriguez knew this would be her life's work. She earned her medical degree from the Universidad Central del Este, Dominican Republic, and completed her residency at Hackensack Medical Center, New Jersey in 1993. She went on to establish her private practice in 1997. Currently, Dr. Rodriguez owns and operates her private practice at a state-of-the-art facility she has coined, MMR Healthcare. Her field of specialty is geriatric care and making patients' golden years shine. MMR Healthcare has been PCMH recognized since 2014. In 2012, she co-founded one of the highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in the country and served as its Chairman of the Board until the end of 2016. With coordination of care at the frontlines of every patient visit, she works to ignite the path towards healthcare excellence. Her other passion is leadership. She was the medical director of several skilled, assisted, and independent living facilities for many years. Including all the local facilities for Life Care, which included Harbour's Edge and the Abbeys. She is a graduate of the Palm Beach Medical Society Leadership Academy and currently enrolled in the American College of Physicians Leadership Academy. She has been on the Board of Directors of the Palm Beach Medical Society for several years as well as part of the Executive Committee. Dr. Rodriguez also chairs the Women's Council for the Medical Society. She is a teacher for NSU College of Pharmacy where she is heavily involved in pharmacy students' and residents' training as well as research which has led to multiple publications with the University. Outside of medicine, Dr. Rodriguez loves to spend time with her family and go to the beach. Her greatest pastime is playing with her first granddaughter. #Interoperability #eClinicalWorks

Introduction For this episode of the Post-Acute POV, our host Navin Gupta, SVP of the Home and Hospice Division at MatrixCare, is joined by Nick Knowlton, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, ResMed, and Board Chairman, CommonWell Health Alliance, to explain the impact of interoperability. Listen in as Nick and Navin review the findings from our recent survey which polled 100 health systems and physician groups, 300 home-based care organizations spanning home health, hospice, palliative care, and private duty, and for the first time, 300 skilled nursing facilities. The results show progress—yet significant gaps—and an opportunity for both home-based care providers and skilled nursing facilities to improve their electronic data-sharing capabilities. Questions to ask your technology provider to improve interoperability: Does your system exist in the native workflow or outside of the solution? Is the documentation your system provides only in a human readable format? Can your system reconcile medications directly into the patient’s chart? Can your system provide insight into mid-episode encounters patients are having? How can your system help with PDGM or navigating palliative care programs? How is your system able to communicate the quality of care back to referral sources both actively and passively? Will your system work for my local geography and current referral source relationships? Ask your vendors about the usual business questions too – Is there a high surcharge to connect? Is it part of my core software package? Is the value aligned with the cost? Topics discussed during today’s episode: [02:50 – 04:48]: What is interoperability and what problem does it solve? [05:41 – 09:22]: The survey found that 95% of providers say they believe interoperability is crucial, compared to 34% in the previous year. Nick explains what he attributes this jump in better understanding the importance of interoperability to. [11:36 – 14:13]: Nick describes why referring physicians are more likely than ever to switch partners to those who they believe can more effectively process electronic referrals. [14:47 – 17:50]: Nick explains the four tiers of maturity in relation to interoperability: basic, moderate, advanced, and high-performing. [18:54 – 20:43]: Nick talks about the types of conversations providers should be having with their technology partners if they are interested in improving interoperability. Note: The questions Nick provided are listed above. [22:04 - 25:41]: How interoperability can help mitigate immediate workforce issues providers are facing. [27:00 - 29:54]: How providers who are on the fence about interoperability can get started. Nick lists actionable steps providers can take today. Resources Learn more about MatrixCare at: https://www.matrixcare.com/ Find out more about our commitment to interoperability: https://www.matrixcare.com/interoperability/ Download the survey report Read the transcript of today’s episode

Introduction For this episode of the Post-Acute POV, our host Navin Gupta, SVP of the home and hospice division at MatrixCare, is joined by Nick Knowlton, vice president, strategic initiatives, ResMed, and board chairman, CommonWell Health Alliance, to explain the impact of interoperability. Listen in as Nick and Navin review the findings from our recent survey which polled 100 health systems and physician groups, 300 home-based care organizations spanning home health, hospice, palliative care, and private duty, and for the first time, 300 skilled nursing facilities. The results show progress—yet significant gaps—and an opportunity for both home-based care providers and skilled nursing facilities to improve their electronic data-sharing capabilities. Questions to ask your technology provider to improve interoperability: Does your system exist in the native workflow or outside of the solution? Is the documentation your system provides only in a human readable format? Can your system reconcile medications directly into the patient’s chart? Can your system provide insight into mid-episode encounters patients are having? How can your system help with PDGM or navigating palliative care programs? How is your system able to communicate the quality of care back to referral sources both actively and passively? Will your system work for my local geography and current referral source relationships? Ask your vendors about the usual business questions too – Is there a high surcharge to connect? Is it part of my core software package? Is the value aligned with the cost? Topics discussed during today’s episode: [02:50 – 04:48]: What is interoperability and what problem does it solve? [05:41 – 09:22]: The survey found that 95% of providers say they believe interoperability is crucial, compared to 34% in the previous year. Nick explains what he attributes this jump in better understanding the importance of interoperability to. [11:36 – 14:13]: Nick describes why referring physicians are more likely than ever to switch partners to those who they believe can more effectively process electronic referrals. [14:47 – 17:50]: Nick explains the four tiers of maturity in relation to interoperability: basic, moderate, advanced, and high-performing. [18:54 – 20:43]: Nick talks about the types of conversations providers should be having with their technology partners if they are interested in improving interoperability. Note: The questions Nick provided are listed above. [22:04 - 25:41]: How interoperability can help mitigate immediate workforce issues providers are facing. [27:00 - 29:54]: How providers who are on the fence about interoperability can get started. Nick lists actionable steps providers can take today. Resources Learn more about MatrixCare at: https://www.matrixcare.com/ Find out more about our commitment to interoperability: https://www.matrixcare.com/interoperability/ Download the survey report Read the transcript of today’s episode

On this episode of the Informonster Podcast, Charlie Harp meets with CommonWell Health Alliance Executive Director, Paul Wilder, and Director of Product, Liz Buckle, to discuss the organization’s mission to provide universal access to data at the point of care for the right clinician and the right patient. While the goal is simple, getting there is incredibly complex. Charlie explains why Clinical Architecture decided to join this alliance, and both Paul and Liz talk about how they’ve been able to connect and share data through their growing nationwide network with the help of their members and initiatives like the CommonWell Connector™ program. The group also shared insights on how federal regulations have affected the push to universal interoperability and the importance of ensuring data quality along the way.

The Defense Healthcare Management System Program Executive Office (DHMS) has been deploying the Military Health System’s new electronic health record, MHS GENESIS. DHMS Acting Program Executive Officer Holly Joers discusses in this episode updates to the deployment, including the inclusion of the U.S. Coast Guard to the EHR, as well as how the Joint Health Information Exchange and more recent CommonWell Health Alliance partnerships are creating greater patient information interoperability between the agencies and their provider partners.

While there is still work to be done, the impact that interoperability has had on care coordination is undeniable. Jitin Asnaani, former Executive Director at CommonWell Health Alliance and now Head of Partnerships at PatientPing, will discuss the interoperability landscape and the progress that has been made to impact patient care. This podcast is sponsored by PatientPing.

Healthcare interoperability gained increased urgency as a result of the pandemic. The need for public health measures, such as virtual care and contact tracing, showcased progress but also revealed gaps that must be closed. On today’s show, Arien Malec and Deanne Kasim speak with Paul Wilder, executive director of CommonWell Health Alliance, about how interoperability can drive innovation to close these gaps, mitigate compliance risks, and improve capabilities for stakeholders and the consumer experience. Today's panel: Change Healthcare’s Arien Malec, SVP of R&D; Deanne Kasim, executive director, Health Policy; and Paul L. Wilder, executive director of CommonWell Health Alliance. Here's what they explored: The nationwide imperative for universal access to health data for patients, providers, and payers Data interoperability and access gaps that emerged during the pandemic How CommonWell's partnership with Carequality facilitates health data interoperability and portability How a federated system for record retrieval can operate without a central database Where gaps in the healthcare system persist The prospect of increased government regulation Anticipating regulatory requirements Where further regulation might be required to enable broad interoperability Episode Resources Paul Wilder’s bio Arien Malec’s bio Deanne Kasim’s bio CommonWell Health Alliance Carequality Connectivity Change Healthcare Interoperability Solutions Change Healthcare Government Affairs Change Healthcare Industry Insights COVID-19 Updates and Resources COVID-19 Updates Newsletter Change Healthcare Insights Newsletter Show Resources SUBSCRIBE to the podcast using any podcatcher or RSS reader Suggest or become a guest Contact Change Healthcare

Host Jim Tate talks to Micky Tripathi, the former president and CEO of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative and now the Chief Alliance Officer at Arcadia. Micky is a pioneer in healthcare IT interoperability and is active in the industry at a local and national level, including membership on the Board of Directors of HL7, the Sequoia Project, the CommonWell Health Alliance, the HL7 FHIR Foundation, and the Project Manager of the Argonaut Project, an industry collaboration to accelerate the adoption of FHIR. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play HealthcareNOW Radio”. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen/

Healthcare interoperability: Where is the industry at today, where is it going, what's new, what's coming, and most important–what do payers, providers, and vendors need to do in order to participate in healthcare's interoperational future? These questions and more are fielded on today's show by Jitin Asnaani, former Executive Director of CommonWell Health Alliance; Kashif Rathore, VP of Interoperability at Cerner; and Nicole Antonson, VP of Identity and CommonWell Services at Change Healthcare. Covered on today's broadcast: Why we're all students of interoperability (03:58) Meaningful Use Stage Two, the need for an interoperability alliance, and the birth of CommonWell (09:08) Promoting the free exchange of information: Why Cerner became a founding member of CommonWell (16:04) Interoperability: What's in it for providers? (21:40) The greatest barriers to interoperability for providers (26:54) How clinical interoperability exchange can help drive better outcomes (37:12) Where healthcare interoperability sits on the maturity curve (45:07) Coming federal interoperability rules (54:44) What providers can expect from CommonWell in the future (1:05:17) What's next for interoperability in healthcare IT (1:13:37) Next steps for providers: Preparing for an interoperable industry (1:18:17) Episode Resources Jitin Asnaani's bio Kashif Rathore's bio Nicole Antonson's bio CommonWell Health Alliance Cerner CommonWell Health Alliance Awards Change Healthcare Six-Year Contract to be the Provider of Clinical Interoperability Services Interoperability Solutions for Healthcare Show Resources SUBSCRIBE to the podcast using any podcatcher or RSS reader Download the audio and listen offline Get the iOS app Get the Android app Suggest or become a guest Contact Change Healthcare

Mike Dozier, Lafayette General Health’s Chief Information Officer, is our guest on this edition of Discover Lafayette. Under Mike's leadership since 2014, Lafayette General has become a leader in healthcare technology in Louisiana and has enacted innovative strategies and organizational alignment through the use of IT. We focus on "telemedicine" in this interview and discuss all the ways it enhances treatment to guarantee patients the best health outcomes while saving both the consumer and healthcare provider money. The field is evolving rapidly. While telemedicine has been around for decades as doctors have been able to diagnose patients remotely, today's telemedicine tools provide open access to care as specialists treat you while you remain at your workplace, school or home. You can receive care no matter where you are. Practically speaking for us patients, telemedicine can keep our healthcare costs down, make it easier to schedule visits to healthcare providers and keep us out of the emergency room by using proactive measures to monitor our health. We can also be saved from sepsis and have access to and share our healthcare records 24/7 through the use of My Health Patient Portal. Eliminating "friction" for patients is the goal of Lafayette General to make access to care as simple as possible. Lafayette General Health is the only health system in Louisiana that has a mobile app that delivers information about wait times to see a doctor, obtain visual information about where clusters of sick people are situated throughout the state (as in where flu is raging among the population), and that allows you to check-in online to avoid waiting for your doctor's appointment. While a typical "15 minute doctor appointment" can actually take up to four hours of your time (drive there, check-in, fill out paperwork, wait, go to the backroom, wait, etc...), the mobile app dispenses with the delays and affords patients the flexibility of preparing ahead of time so that they are actually in and out of an appointment in reasonable time. A large contingent of IT professionals on staff at Lafayette General work to ensure that records are available to providers and patients, even when hurricanes and natural disasters may occur. Lafayette General's records are stored off-site in Kansas City, which is one of the most secure places in the U. S. Other sites are also utilized as backup measures to protect precious healthcare data. Redundancy is important in data security and protecting network and software applications of providers and Mike discussed how this became very apparent from Louisiana's experience in 2005 when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast. Lafayette General's David Callecod announced in March 2019 that patients can have access to their medical records regardless of the electronic health record a healthcare facility uses. "When data is made readily available, providers can make diagnostic and treatment decisions more quickly, and patients can recover sooner. Better data means better communication with our patients and providers, better care and better outcomes." LGH and Our Lady of Lourdes in Lafayette are two of the first healthcare organizations in the country to share and retrieve health data via the new connection between two of the leading health IT data exchange networks, managed by CommonWell Health Alliance® and Carequality. By taking part in this pilot, Lafayette General Health and Our Lady of Lourdes can now exchange patients’ electronic medical records seamlessly through the use of technology. Lafayette General is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to diagnose sepsis, a blood infection that kills many people while they are being treated in hospitals worldwide. Being able to detect key changes in vital signs, lab results, nursing reports, and other information can identify a patient's potential to develop sepsis earlier and quickly alert healthcare staff to changes that the eye can't de...

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Jitin Asnaani, Executive Director of the CommonWell Health Alliance which is on a mission to make a nationwide health data exchange a reality. They discuss the national network of payer, provider and EHR vendors joining the Alliance to advance interoperability across multiple electronic health record platforms with health data flowing seamlessly from patient to providers. The post Commonwell Health Alliance’s Jitin Asnaani on Mission for National Health Data Exchange appeared first on Healthy Communities Online.

Samantha Kirk, Director, Product Development, Interoperability Services, and Elizabeth Buckle, Manager, Product Management discuss the interoperability services team and their team implements product solutions to increase practice satisfaction. Plus, learn about the recent announcement regarding Greenway Health part in the initiative with Commonwell Health Alliance and its collaboration with Carequality to advance interoperability.

Jitin Asnaani, Executive Director of CommonWell Health Alliance, talks about interoperability on the first episode of The Cerner Podcast.

Committed to providing affordable interoperability to all customers, the eCW Podcast team invited Dave Cassel, Director of Carequality, Jitin Asnaani, Executive Director of CommonWell Health Alliance, and Tushar Malhotra, product lead for interoperability at eClinicalWorks to outline the rise of interoperability and how providers are ensured to have complete and accurate patient information.

Justin’ s guest is Jitin Asnaani (@Jitin) from CommonWell Health Alliance (@CommonWell). Justin and Jitin discuss interoperability strategy and opportunity. Asnaani is the former Coordinator of @siframework & Direct Project for @ONC_healthIT, ex-@athenahealth & @Deloitte.     The post Jitin Asnanni with CommonWell Health Alliance appeared first on Business RadioX ®.