I have always found enormous value in what I do at work.
For nearly 15 years, I have been in the connectivity business and have seen the benefits a connected health care ecosystem can provide communities, providers and patients. At Cerner, we have been providing health care solutions for our clients on how to better capture, access and apply health data for more than three decades, but we knew that until the industry broke down the necessary barriers and obstacles that prevent us from sharing and accessing health data, we as an industry would not be able to truly provide the best care possible.
Enter in the CommonWell Health Alliance.
Since the launch of CommonWell at last year’s HIMSS, it has been gratifying to see the response of my peers across the industry. In my conversations, I continue to hear that the priority CommonWell is placing on patient identity management, record locator and trusted data access is well received. These are a gap in the health care industry and ones worth the energy and effort our seven Founding members have put forth over this past year to help remedy.
Our teams have done a great job of staying focused on getting us to where we now – client organizations in multiple geographies launching our services, a working enrollment application to engage the patient and a formalized entity with a cohesive member community. Together, we are finding a way to break down those barriers.
Given our focus on making our services work, we have been limited in our resources to open up our membership, but it is our hope to share in this endeavor with all individuals and organizations devoted to the simple notion that health data should be available and accessible regardless of where care occurs. So for the hundreds of you who have submitted requests to join our organization, THANK YOU and stay tuned. We promise to be in touch soon.
Bob Robke, vice president of Cerner Network, was elected as the treasure of the CommonWell Board of Directors in October 2013. He shared a quick comment at our recent CommonWell Board meeting around the industry response to our efforts. Take a listen below.