The National Association for Trusted Exchange (NATE) and CommonWell Health Alliance have announced that each would become a member of the other’s organization, agreeing to establish a complementary relationship with the goal of enhancing cross-vendor interoperability.
NATE is a membership association focused on enabling trusted exchange among organizations and individuals with differing regulatory environments and exchange preferences. Its membership and other stakeholders help to address the legal, policy and technical barriers that inhibit health information exchange between HIPAA covered entities and the consumers that they serve. Meanwhile, since its start at the 2013 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference, CommonWell has continued to add new members, reinforcing its vision that health data should be available to providers and patients regardless of where care occurs.
NATE and CommonWell will begin working together immediately. “The nation’s focus is shifting toward increasing a consumer’s capabilities to exercise their Patient Right of Access under HIPAA, and NATE is excited to continue to collaborate with CommonWell and its membership in realizing this important goal,” Aaron Seib, NATE CEO, said in a statement. “NATE believes that consumers are better partners for providers when they have information symmetry, and that many opportunities exist and will emerge between CommonWell and NATE that will enable the trustworthy sharing of professionally- and patient-generated health information.”
Nick Knowlton, membership committee chair for CommonWell and vice president at Brightree, added, “CommonWell looks forward to participating in NATE’s efforts to encourage the sharing of information between our members and the patients they serve and is eager to welcome NATE’s contributions to our work. Our organizations agree that patients should be at the center of their healthcare and that their providers can be empowered to deliver care that is informed by secure and authorized access to that patient’s data, no matter where care has occurred.”
