More connected care communities and data availability not only help providers deliver the best care possible, but they also give patients the opportunity to more actively participate in their healthcare. It’s for these reasons that MEDHOST joined the CommonWell Health Alliance as a Contributing Member earlier this year. We share CommonWell’s mission of improving providers’ access to patient data while helping enhance the quality of care, and we firmly believe interoperable healthcare systems are good for all stakeholders.
We applaud CommonWell and its inaugural members for their vision and commitment to walk across competitive lines because this collaboration breaks down health data silos that ultimately limit providers and the level of quality care they can provide. MEDHOST finds this significant, especially considering these initiatives weren’t government mandated. Instead CommonWell proactively advanced the government’s appeal for interoperability by bringing together commercial players to make data accessibility a reality.
MEDHOST looks forward to supporting CommonWell’s efforts, and helping implement a more streamlined onboarding process for new patients across the industry. Providers will have access to more accurate historical information from the initial stages of care. As a result of CommonWell’s efforts we are expecting there will come a time when clinicians will not be wholly reliant on sick patients or their family members to provide this medically necessary and critical information. Past medical conditions, home medications and other details will be right at caregivers’ fingertips, resulting in more informed care planning and decisions.
As the newest health IT Contributing Member, we have already participated in very thorough discussions alongside other CommonWell members about what is needed to advance interoperability and data exchange. It’s refreshing to see competitors work in partnership, and from our early experiences, it is evident that this collaboration has resulted in a very established, thought-out project plan. Additionally, with everything so well structured, it’s made it easy for MEDHOST to understand not only what resources need to be dedicated to have a successful launch, but also when they will be needed. And thus, we are well on our way to accomplishing the first integration with some of our competitors in a healthcare system.
While we understand that hospitals and the communities they serve need information from disparate systems across their community and beyond, we also know that MEDHOST’s systems, while adopted at approximately 1,000 healthcare facilities across the U.S., aren’t used by everyone.
However, MEDHOST is proud to bring such a large U.S. Customer base to CommonWell, and we are equally excited that we can capitalize on the progress CommonWell has already made.
It’s very exciting to see such swift progress, and we look forward to what’s to come.
Craig Herrod is the president of MEDHOST, which joined the CommonWell Health Alliance as a Contributing Member in February 2014.