New Surescripts Partnership to Advance Clinical Interoperability

Health IT vendor Surescripts has become a strategic business and technology partner to Civitas Network for Health to drive clinical interoperability for better patient care quality and lower healthcare costs.

Civitas Network for Health supports interoperability through widespread collaboration. The organization comprises member organizations working on using health information exchange, health data, and multi-stakeholder, cross-sector approaches to improve healthcare.

“Civitas Networks for Health is excited to have Surescripts join our national network,” said Lisa Bari, Interim CEO of Civitas. “We are raising the voices of local health collaboratives and those providing critical services to support health transformation.”

“From the secure exchange of life-saving data to the accountability of multi-stakeholder initiatives, our member organizations have built the most trusted, connected, and inventive programs to serve their communities,” Bari stated. “Surescripts has long been a leader in healthcare interoperability, and their partnership is invaluable as we continue improving the delivery of quality healthcare at lower costs to patients.”

Interoperability and health data exchange plays a vital role in advancing care coordination. With patients attending different hospitals and specialists, the need for interoperability between multiple providers is critical. Coordinated care creates opportunities for cost reduction, patient care improvement, and reduced workloads.

Through Surescripts Network Alliance, healthcare professionals can communicate and bridge information gaps when coordinating care, Surescripts stated. Surescripts Network Alliance participants, such as pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies, fuel the Surescripts master patient index with the authorized patient and member information.

The index includes secure patient data for more than 99 percent of American patients. 

In 2021, stakeholders used the health IT vendor’s master patient index to inform more than 2 billion patient medication histories. 

“Surescripts has brought real-world interoperability to healthcare by filling gaps in patient information so that healthcare professionals can focus on providing care for their patients instead of time-consuming administrative tasks,” Mike Pritts, chief product officer of Surescripts, said. “Joining Civitas gives Surescripts the ability to expand our impact alongside industry partners to drive deeper and broader clinical interoperability that increases the quality of care and patient safety while lowering healthcare costs.”

Civitas Networks for Health accounts for over 100 regional and statewide HIEs, regional health improvement collaboratives (RHICs), quality improvement organizations (QIOs), and all-payer claims databases (APCDs), as well as more than 50 affiliated member organizations.

Earlier this year, Civitas Networks for Health added health IT vendor Kno2 to its network.

Therasa Bell, Kno2’s co-founder, president, and chief technology officer, said that the company is committed to participating in initiatives driving interoperability.

As Civitas Networks for Health continues to drive health information exchange across the country, Kno2 will help bring members best practices for interoperability.