Health IT

CommonWell interoperability group adds HIMSS, eClinicalWorks, others

In all, CommonWell announced seven new members on Thursday, bringing aboard EHRs, medical imaging, emergency medical services, patient portals, telemedicine and personal health records.

handshake  behind a corporative building.Great for any design.

The CommonWell Health Alliance, a high-profile health IT interoperability organization, has added a major electronic health records vendor and the industry’s largest trade group to its membership. In all, CommonWell announced seven new members on Thursday, bringing aboard EHRs, medical imaging, emergency medical services, patient portals, telemedicine and personal health records.

The most notable addition is eClinicalWorks, a scrappy ambulatory EHR vendor with a huge user base, but not the fanfare of some of its competitors. Westborough, Massachusetts-based eClinical Works claims 10 percent of the cloud-based ambulatory EHR market, according to Frost & Sullivan.

“Connecting medical providers and patients is paramount to elevating healthcare delivery,” eClinicalWorks’ integration chief Tushar Malhotra said in a statement from CommonWell. “The work by CommonWell and its members helps move the industry forward, and we are pleased to officially become a member, joining the effort to make nationwide interoperability ubiquitous,” he added.

Another biggie joining CommonWell is the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, which is gearing up to welcome 45,000 people to its annual conference next month.  Others new members include:

Boston-based CommonWell now has 40 members — up from 25 last April — which the organization said comprises 72 percent of the inpatient EHR market and 34 percent on the ambulatory side. Notably absent is Epic Systems, which is by far the largest ambulatory EHR vendor and in the top three for acute care.

“The diversity in our membership is representative of our commitment to reach the full continuum of care and to help ensure pertinent patient information is available to patients and caregivers regardless of where care occurred,” CommonWell Executive Director Jitin Asnaani said.

Photo: Flickr user Wirawat Lian-udom

Shares0
Shares0