Carequality Adds New Members to Public-Private Collaborative

MCLEAN, VA--(Marketwired - Nov 20, 2015) - Carequality today announced three organizations that recently joined the collaborative, which is an initiative of The Sequoia Project. The goal of Carequality is to give health data sharing networks throughout the country the capability to communicate with each other using a common interoperability framework.

The new members -- HIETexas, Transcend Insights and ZOLL Medical Corporation -- expand Carequality's reach into health information exchanges (HIEs), population health solution providers and emergency medical services (EMS).

"Carequality quickly transitioned from a concept into a functioning collaborative," said Dave Cassel, director of the Carequality initiative. "In one year, the collaborative set up a trust framework for interoperability and began testing it in real-world environments. We're proving that our approach works, and more and more organizations are embracing Carequality as a viable way to bridge the many exchange networks already in production."

HIETexas: With an increasingly mobile population, the goal of HIETexas is to enable authorized and secure access to a patient's health record to ensure Texans receive the best health care possible when and wherever it is needed. Because of our connection to Carequality, local HIEs connected to HIETexas will have access to a larger collaborative of health care networks across the nation, all working together to address the final hurdles of interoperability among health information systems," said Tony Gilman, CEO of the Texas Health Services Authority.

Transcend Insights: Transcend Insights addresses the complexities of population health through advanced community-wide interoperability, real-time health care analytics and intuitive care tools. The company's HealthLogix™ platform provides health care systems, physicians and care teams with valuable insights that enable more informed decisions at the point of care, enhance the patient experience and reduce costs. The company's vision of population health is reflected in its commitment to helping people achieve their best health.

"At Transcend Insights, we believe in engaging individuals in their health care journeys. With a goal of managing not just the sick patient but also the well individual, we are looking to further connect disparate systems with open standards, making it easier for care teams to do their jobs and deliver the care we need. Therefore, we understand the importance of breaking down the barriers to community-wide interoperability and are proud to support the non-profit Carequality initiative," said Marc Willard, president of Transcend Insights.

ZOLL: ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and monitoring, circulation and CPR feedback, data management, fluid resuscitation, therapeutic temperature management and ventilation, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals and lay rescuers treat victims needing resuscitation and acute critical care.

"EMS operations are too often left out of the interoperability equation. First responders can provide critical information to physicians and nurses, and can benefit from access to appropriate information within a patient's chart when responding to emergencies. ZOLL is committed to bringing EMS services to the interoperability table through our software and Carequality membership," said Greg Mears, MD, medical director for ZOLL.

About Carequality
Carequality is a public-private collaborative that facilitates agreement among diverse stakeholders to develop and maintain a common interoperability framework enabling exchange between and among data sharing networks. Carequality brings together a diverse group of representatives from the private sector and government to come to collective agreement on how to enable data to flow seamlessly between and among networks and providers, much like the telecommunications industry did for linking cell phone networks. For more information, visit www.carequality.org and follow us at twitter.com/carequality.

About The Sequoia Project
The Sequoia Project is a non-profit 501c3 chartered to advance implementation of secure, interoperable nationwide health information exchange. The Sequoia Project supports multiple, independent health IT interoperability initiatives, most notably: the eHealth Exchange, a rapidly growing community of exchange partners who share information under a common trust framework and a common set of rules; and Carequality, a public-private collaborative effort to build consensus among existing data sharing networks regarding technical specifications and best practices, much like the telecommunications industry did for linking cell phone networks. For more information about The Sequoia Project and its initiatives, visit www.sequoiaproject.org. Follow The Sequoia Project on Twitter: @SequoiaProject.

ZOLL is a registered trademark of ZOLL Medical Corporation in the United States and other countries.