This past week, CommonWell Health Alliance touted some new news and features following the launch of its new platform – with enhanced capabilities and new member companies joining the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement.
WHY IT MATTERS
CommonWell, one of seven TEFCA-qualified health information networks, said alliance members athenahealth, ModuleMD and Solace Health are the first to join the new platform – helping CommonWell connect 36,000 providers to a more secure and efficient health information exchange.
CommonWell says new enhancements to the platform, developed in partnership with interoperability provider ELLKAY, include new capabilities that enable smoother and more reliable data exchange across multiple health information systems.
The platform is designed to help ensure compliance with TEFCA’s national standards for health information exchange and expand exchange capabilities to a broader network of healthcare providers. It features security enhancements, including HITRUST certification, according to CommonWell – which also touts more streamlined care coordination and integration workflows, as well as smoother service integration for those who use the service.
Meanwhile, the CommonWell Health Alliance continues to grow with the addition of three new members: AxiomEHR, Nightingale Technology, and RXTrail.
Interoperability has expanded from six original members in 2013 to more than 70 today – connecting more than 36,000 service providers and exchanging more than 7.7 billion health records to support more than 238 million patients.
THE BIGGER TREND
In a significant step toward nationwide interoperability, Carequality, the decade-old interoperability initiative (founded a year after CommonWell’s original providers joined forces in 2013) that includes more than 45 networks linking more than 50,000 outpatient clinics and 4,200 hospitals, announced last month that it would be “closely aligned” with TEFCA.
CommonWell, which announced its TEFCA candidacy in 2023 and “incorporated” as QHIN earlier this year, has been working with Carequality on two-way data exchanges for years.
ON THE RECORD
“The launch of our new platform is a significant step forward in our efforts to advance healthcare interoperability,” Paul L. Wilder, CEO of CommonWell Health Alliance, said in a statement. “It empowers us to deliver on our promise to make critical health data accessible whenever and wherever it is needed. Additionally, incorporating TEFCA services into the platform ensures we are at the forefront of national health information exchange initiatives.”
“Our goal is to provide the most interoperable platform in healthcare, and our long-standing partnership with CommonWell Health Alliance has been integral to our success,” added Michael Palantoni, vice president of platform services at athenahealth. “We are excited to expand this relationship and connect with CommonWell’s QHIN so we can provide access to an expanded national data network at no additional cost or effort to our customers.”
Mike Miliard is executive editor of Healthcare IT News
Email the author: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS.
