CommonWell Continues Interoperability Push, Welcomes New Members

CommonWell Health Alliance, an IT stakeholder group focused on health information exchange, has announced that it is expanding membership opportunities, welcoming two new members to the association.

Lawrenceville, Ga.-based enters CommonWell as the first dedicated post-acute vendor, with a sizeable footprint in the home health sector. In keeping with the association’s goal of improving patient care regardless of where the patient is seen, Brightree’s entry will open new opportunities for in-home health IT access for patients and their clinicians, CommonWell officials say.

The Lincoln, Neb.-based MacPractice brings the Apple community, technology and user base into mainstream CommonWell. Providing MacPractice-developed OS X and iOS native practice management and electronic medical record (EMR) products and surrounding services to 30,000 users (including 15,000 providers), MacPractice will bring greater visibility and credibility to CommonWell’s efforts on behalf of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, and optical specialists within the Apple ecosystem, its officials say.

Brightree and MacPractice join founding members Allscripts, athenahealth, Cerner, CPSI, Greenway, McKesson and Sunquest, contributing members CVS Caremark and MEDHOST, and service provider RelayHealth.

“When CommonWell was created in 2013, we wanted to ensure our members and their clients received value quickly and comprehensively,” Nick Knowlton, board member for CommonWell Health Alliance and senior director at Greenway Health, said in a statement. “In that spirit, each of our initial member companies brought a unique aspect to allow us to stay focused, yet visionary.”