Dive Brief:
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The California Integrated Data Exchange (Cal INDEX), a medical database launched in 2014 by Blue Shield of California and Anthem, announced plans to merge with the Empire Health Information Exchange.
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If approved, the merger would result in one of the nation’s largest databases of patient records, containing 11.7 million claims records and 5 million clinical patient records.
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Claudia Williams, who was senior advisor for health innovation and technology at the White House for the past four years, will serve as chief executive of the new organization.
Dive Insight:
Aggregated medical records can be used for improving care management. With the capability to see what’s happening with patients at all points of care, providers and insurers can improve safety, avoid duplication of services and unnecessary costs, see how patients are moving through the continuum of care (and where they’re falling through the cracks), and track key quality measures such as emergency room visits and hospital readmissions.
But medical record aggregation is easier said than done. Significant challenges, including data security and compatibility issues between data platforms, have stymied the growth of the exchange. CMS is facing similar challenges as it prepares to collect data under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), which will require a more robust IT infrastructure.
California can be viewed as the site of a massive demonstration project. And Williams, with her government background and experience promoting regional exchanges, is uniquely suited to guide such an undertaking.