The unique arrangement would allow patients access to the providers’ combined 44 hospitals and 5,680 physicians, and help the providers better track patients and manage population health.
The participating providers include UW Health in Madison, Aspirus in Wausau, Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee, Bellin Health in Green Bay, Gundersen Health System in La Crosse and ThedaCare in Appleton.
“This is not a merger or a consolidation and not a changing of money or governance,” Jeff Thompson, CEO of Gundersen Health System, said in a news release. “It will allow us to more rapidly learn from each other, share best practices and serve the needs of patients and families more efficiently.”
The data-sharing will be made easier by the fact all the providers use an Epic electronic health record system.
One of the first initiatives of the new partnership is a new health insurance offering backed by a major payer. Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Blue Priority, available through Healthcare.gov or private brokers and exchanges, will provide access to the new network of providers.
More articles on data exchange:
Health IT vendors to ONC: MU3 too soon for mandated APIs, FHIR
Kansas Health Information Network joins national network
New Jersey HIE, REC partner for expanded data exchange
