Cambia Streamlines Health Data Exchange with FHIR, Da Vinci Project
Cambia Health Solutions is partnering with two providers to streamline health data exchange through the use of FHIR.
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By - Cambia Health Solutions has partnered with two healthcare provider networks to enhance health data exchange by leveraging FHIR.
As part of the Da Vinci Project, Cambia is working with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and MultiCare Connected Care (MCC) to streamline medication reconciliation and insurance authorization processes, two significant pain points that can be addressed with more robust data exchange.
“Implementing value-based care across the industry requires collaboration among entities and fluid exchange of health information among different verticals,” said Laurent Rotival, SVP of Strategic Technology Solutions and CIO, Cambia Health Solutions.
“For more than 15 years, Cambia has been working to liberate data in the health care system and we are excited to join OHSU and MCC in making interoperability a reality. Putting the right data in the right hands at the right time will be critical to a person-focused and economically sustainable health care system.”
The Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, better known as FHIR, are a set of internet-based data standards that have seen rapid adoption across the healthcare industry.
FHIR is supported and nurtured by HL7 International, which launched the Da Vinci Project in 2018 as a way for payers to collaborate around developing and deploying standardized interoperability protocols.
“As the home of the Da Vinci Project, HL7 is encouraged by the level of collaboration we’ve seen across multiple payers and providers,” said Dr. Charles Jaffe, CEO, HL7 International. “The adoption of the HL7 FHIR platform has laid the groundwork for interoperability in the diverse accountable care community.”
Cambia is one of the first payers to implement real-world applications born from the project.
At MultiCare, a Washington State accountable care organization with 2500 providers, Cambia is working with executive leaders to improve the medication reconciliation process.
Value-based care initiatives are increasingly making medication reconciliation a measure of quality, and poor tracking of medications can be a patient safety issue.
Using FHIR to exchange medication data will allow providers to receive updates directly in the EHR. Clinicians can also electronically sign off on the data, reducing administrative burdens and freeing up more time for patient care.
“This is a revolutionary project that gives us the opportunity to capitalize on cutting edge technology,” said Zak Ramadan-Jradi, MD, MBA, Executive Director & VP, MCC.
“It will allow us to be able to receive relevant data from the health plan that will be delivered to the provider’s fingertips at the appropriate point of care to enhance the patient experience through improved coordination of care. We are excited to be a leader in this venture and to explore this opportunity to participate in transforming health care.”
The payer is also working with Oregon Health & Sciences University to streamline data exchange. At OHSU, automating authorization requests is the target for the pilot program.
The two entities will work together to create electronic workflows for prior authorizations that speed up a cumbersome process.
“Enabling provider organizations to discover specific payer requirements in real time could reduce administrative burden and improve timely access to care,” said Steven Z. Kassakian, MD, MS, Associate Chief Health Information Officer, OHSU.
“Automatic authorizations could lower costs by increasing operational efficiencies and promoting better outcomes. We look forward to working with Cambia to help simplify data exchange, improve patient care, and develop national standards.”
The members of the Da Vinci project are also looking to solve a number of other pain points that exist when providers and payers need to share information.
A large number of payers, including Anthem, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Highmark, and several of the Blues are members of HL7 International and are working to use FHIR to improve industry operations.
Prior authorization is certainly a top priority for the Da Vinci group, as is exchanging data for quality measurement. Other top use cases include ADT notifications to smooth transitions of care, chronic disease management, cost transparency, and coverage requirements discovery.
As the collaborative evolves, more payers and providers will deploy pilots in these areas to improve the flow of critical health data across the care continuum.
