What You Should Know:
– Fresenius Kidney Care, the dialysis services division of Fresenius Medical Care North America, rolled out CommonWell health data exchange services to its dialysis facilities nationwide.
– This initiative is a significant stride towards better-coordinated care for patients requiring life-sustaining dialysis for kidney failure and will enable the real-time exchange of critical patient health information–allowing healthcare providers to access the most up-to-date records when treating these patients with complex health needs.
Fresenius Kidney Care, the dialysis services division of Fresenius Medical Care North America and the nation’s leading network of dialysis facilities, is deploying CommonWell health data exchange services to all of its dialysis facilities, enabling near-real-time exchange of critical patient health information. With the connection to the CommonWell Health Alliance interoperability network and its bridge to the Carequality interoperability framework, care team members can locate, exchange, and view patient health documents from more than 600,000 providers and 2,800 hospitals across the country.
National Data Exchange Network
The exchange enables the provider network to access dialysis treatment records for any patient treated at Fresenius Kidney Care and better coordinate care with patients’ other participating providers. Because people living with kidney failure often have multiple comorbidities, many are routinely treated in other facilities and hospitals outside the dialysis center making access to health information critical.
The document exchange is made possible within the company’s existing Cerner technology for managing patient health records. Examples of health information accessible on the exchange network include discharge summaries and emergency room visits.
“Ensuring all healthcare providers have the most up-to-date records when our dialysis patients receive care is vital to providing the best treatment and outcomes possible,” said Mike Asselta, President of Fresenius Kidney Care. “By implementing this leading national exchange, we are taking another important step toward better coordinated care for all patients living with kidney failure.”
Expansion Plans
Fresenius Kidney Care recently began implementing these data exchange services in select states and dialysis centers and will continue to expand these services in the coming months. Several studies have shown that use of health information exchange (HIE) systems can decrease the number of hospital emergency room visits and reduce readmission rates.
