Featuring Denise Schrader, MSN RN, NEA-BC, Vice President, Integrated Services, Mosaic Life Care

To give other organizations a glimpse into just how beneficial Commonwell can be, we sat down with MatrixCare customer, Mosaic Life Care. Their VP of Integrated Services, Denise Schrader, and her team, gave us a first-hand account of their experiences with this health data exchange platform. Read on as we discuss what this means for post-acute care and the future of interoperability.

What is CommonWell and why do MatrixCare customers have access to it?

CommonWell is a tool that allows MatrixCare customers to connect with any and all Providers within their network. MatrixCare implemented CommonWell services for free to its customers, and there is little to no technical support overhead required to be up and running. Once enabled, you’ll be able to send and receive documents from dozens to hundreds of providers. The process is extremely efficient, error-free, and best of all – it’s in real-time.

Schrader and her team say that the main limitation for connected providers is that not all EHRs have embraced CommonWell. We are able to send and receive the face sheet, and all the clinical continuity of care documentation, but some other local providers are only sharing their discharge summaries. Keeping up your relationships with your EHR partner providers remains important. Encourage them to connect with CommonWell if they don’t already. This will help provide the population health management patients require.

In a nutshell, what are the benefits?

From a technical perspective, one of the huge benefits of CommonWell is that it’s not a database or HIE; it’s more like a train station. When running, it can pull data from every other “train” (provider) using the service and we can drop it straight into our EHR. Similarly, our partnered providers love that they can easily see our charting in their EHR.

“Enrolling and connecting patients to CommonWell is so easy that before I had a chance to train our intake staff, they were already doing it,” said Denise Schrader. “It’s very seamless on MatrixCare’s end for that connectivity.”

The Mosaic team says that almost 100% of their “patients are enrolled in CommonWell. And we are getting anywhere from one to 15 or more documents per patient that we can choose to go over.” Thereby, helping to get a more holistic view of their patients, which helps them to provide better care.

What does this mean for the current state of post-acute care?

There is extreme value with CommonWell when it comes to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). Accurate diagnoses and comorbidity coding are critical, which means access to the acute provider’s discharge summaries can lead to better, more accurate diagnoses. In addition, as we all know, a patient discharged for a hospital stay related to a fall may actually have a history of stroke, wounds, or other high-intensity care that home health will manage. With CommonWell, we can see the historical encounters of all participating acute and post-acute providers, not just the most recent discharge summary.

When it comes to intake, office nurses can pull in any related encounters shared by not only our hospital but also all the clinics and hospitals participating in CommonWell; while never logging out of the MatrixCare system. We know this will be a contributing factor to succeeding under PDGM and shortening our revenue cycle.

CommonWell is a referral source satisfier. Not only does it eliminate some faxing and phone calls for pre-intake information gathering, but it’s also shining a light on the “post-acute black hole.” Best of all, providers don’t have to track another login – they can see the charting right within the EHR.

Where do you see CommonWell in the future of interoperability?

As CommonWell adoption and utilization increases, it’s well situated to take over several facets of provider communication, thanks to its ease of use. Traditional interfaces are clunky and require massive investments of technical support to put the structures in place as well as maintain the connections. Nationwide networks will supersede traditional HL7 interfaces once adoption and utilization hurdles are cleared.

If adoption becomes more widespread, CommonWell would be our tool of choice for exchanging information with other providers in the care continuum.

About Mosaic Life Care

Mosaic Life Care is a health care system in northwest Missouri that is part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. With four hospitals, numerous clinics, an ambulatory surgery center, a nurse call center, and home health, hospice and palliative care services – Mosaic is a model health care system when it comes to moving toward interoperability. Mosaic is part of an accountable care organization, making care coordination essential for both patient health and the system’s overall success.

Learn more about MatrixCare and CommonWell.

The post Get up close and personal with CommonWell: A conversation with Mosaic Life Care appeared first on MatrixCare.