Healthcare providers have more ways than ever to exchange health data, but getting medical records from another provider often still means relying on fax machines, emails, phone calls, and manual follow-ups.
Datavant is trying to help fix this problem through a new platform designed to help providers request, track and receive records digitally. This provider exchange network, launched Thursday, is designed to give care teams better visibility into record retrieval workflows, as well as reduce the administrative work involved in coordinating care.
The platform lets providers submit records requests directly through Datavant’s existing network of connected providers, rather than needing to conduct manual outreach to hunt down documentation.
Requests that once took a week or more to fulfill can now come back in under 24 hours, and in some cases within just an hour or two, said Andrea Kowalski, senior vice president of provider products at Datavant.
“We already have the largest network of connected providers in the country,” Kowalski stated, “so Provider Exchange really puts that same infrastructure to work for providers themselves, not just outside requesters.”
One early customer in the tissue and organ donation field — where clinicians typically have just a day or two to review a potential donor’s medical history — is already using the platform to speed up that time-sensitive record retrieval, she added.
To use the platform, providers need minimal training. Kowalski noted that early users have been able to get up and running in less than a week.
Fax remains a surprisingly common method for healthcare record exchange. Kowalski recalled a recent conversation with a client advisory board member who was startled to learn their own organization was still sending about 25,000 requests a year by fax.
She said Datavant’s network has given the company a unique perspective into just how much of that volume could move online instead.
In Kowalski’s eyes, Datavant’s new platform is complementary to existing health information exchanges such as TEFCA and Carequality. Its first phase runs on Datavant’s own network of connected health systems, but the company plans to expand connectivity to additional third-party exchanges over time, she noted.
Kowalski said the effort ultimately comes down to two connected goals: giving patients faster, more coordinated care and lifting some of the administrative burden off provider staff.
“We’re really trying to streamline that workflow and take it off of especially clinical staff so that they can focus on patient care,” she remarked.
Turnaround times will still vary depending on the system on the other end of a request, she added, but Datavant’s broader aim is to push retrieval closer to real time across the board.
Photo: Getty Images, MoMo Productions
