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.
In our discussion I ask Wilder how CommonWell came about this decision and what went into the selection process. Plus, I ask him and the ELLKAY team what the process is going to look like going forward as they transition from the old provider to ELLKAY. Wilder aptly points out that the way the system is designed, there shouldn’t be any disruption of service during the crossover. To me it sounded much like DNS where you can change DNS servers and the old will continue working until people start pulling from the new one. With millions of transactions happening, it’s good to see that CommonWell was designed similarly to provide a seamless transition.
Kapare and Singh also took a moment to talk about what this announcement means for ELLKAY and why they are excited to work with CommonWell. It seems like the initial focus is on finishing CommonWell’s efforts to become a QHIN and transitioning off the old provider. Plus, they saw potential opportunities to work together to do even more including some ELLKAY members learning about the value of becoming a CommonWell member.
I asked Wilder what all this means for current CommonWell members. Plus, he shared how CommonWell’s efforts to become a QHIN played an important part in their decision to go with ELLKAY.
Check out the video below to learn more about this big announcement from CommonWell and ELLKAY.
Learn more about CommonWell Health Alliance: https://www.commonwellalliance.org/
Learn more about ELLKAY: https://www.ellkay.com/
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