The WHIO, SymphonyCare and Onyx to Make CMS Final Rule Compliance Easy for Wisconsin Health Plans

Onyx Technology, the Wisconsin Health Information Organization (WHIO), and SymphonyCare today announced a joint solution for health plans in Wisconsin to deliver true health data interoperability and consumer access to their own health care information that is critical to delivering value-based care in compliance with new federal rules.

Many insurance companies in Wisconsin already work with the WHIO as participants in the state’s All-Payer Claims Database to provide price, resource use, and quality information in conjunction with the WHIO’s technology partner, SymphonyCare. By simply adding Onyx’s HL7 FHIR-based interoperability platform SAFHIR to the WHIO’s current technology, Wisconsin health plans will achieve regulatory compliance for all future healthcare information exchange.

“As a nonprofit organization dedicated to driving higher quality healthcare at a lower cost through informed consumers, we welcome this partnership,” said Dana Richardson, CEO of the WHIO. “We’re striving to provide more opportunities for our health plans to better utilize and protect their health data, and to integrate it with other data sources. Today’s announcement is an example of how we are doing exactly that. We can help health plans achieve compliance with the CMS Patient Access Requirements within 10 to 14 weeks, with minimal change to their current technology.”

The SAFHIR platform is modeled after the CMS Blue Button 2.0 API - which provides over 50 million Medicare beneficiaries access to their health data - was built for the federal government by members of Onyx. The new CMS regulations go into effect July 21, 2021 and will impact nearly every health plan in the United States. The WHIO, in partnership with SymphonyCare and Onyx, will offer the nation’s leading-edge “one-stop solution” for federal regulation compliance and the revolutionary possibilities of FHIR-based data exchange.

“The pace of change in health IT combined with these new requirements has produced uncertainty in the industry. How do you leverage your current technology to improve services to your members and meet the regulations?” said Susheel Ladwa, CEO of Onyx. “Buy or build? Meet the federal requirements and/or innovate? Fortunately, there is a clear option. The addition of the SAFHIR platform into the WHIO solution is the game-changer. SAFHIR, a cloud first platform built in collaboration with Microsoft, enables secure connections between payers and patients and is the product of lessons learned from building the Blue Button 2.0 service for Medicare. Health plans can feel confident the solution is ready. We’re making compliance easier for Wisconsin’s health plans and to use this technology to solve future data integration challenges.”

“This partnership with WHIO and Onyx will further improve consumer access to their health data and provide a much-needed way to meet the new CMS regulations,” said Ravi Kalla, CEO of SymphonyCare. “We are looking forward to taking this combined solution to similar organizations across the nation.”

About Onyx Technology LLC

Onyx Technology, LLC is a healthcare interoperability solutions provider. Onyx, a NewWave company, emerged from work with CMS in establishing the nation’s first nationwide FHIR-based API, Blue Button 2.0. Building on this experience and expertise, Onyx has partnered with Microsoft to build the industry’s leading platform for FHIR-based interoperable exchange. Focused on standards based, interoperable technologies that ensure security, privacy and the delivery of the right information to the right place at the right time, Onyx is the expert in enabling our customers to garner the greatest value from their participation in the healthcare eco-system of tomorrow. For more information, please visit www.onyxhealth.io.

About Wisconsin Health Information Organization (WHIO)

The Wisconsin Health Information Organization (WHIO) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality, safety, and cost effectiveness of health care in Wisconsin. As Wisconsin’s All-Payer Claims Database, the WHIO is the largest source of health care data and information across the continuum of care. The WHIO information system includes all care settings (e.g., hospital, clinic. long term care), all services (e.g., laboratory, radiology, pharmacy), and all professionals (e.g., physicians, therapist, chiropractors) that are paid for by Wisconsin insurance. For more information, please visit whio.org.

About SymphonyCare

SymphonyCare is an innovative healthcare data management company that partners with organizations looking to improve data quality and efficiency of care. WellStackTM, SymphonyCare’s next-generation value-based care platform, is an EMR-agnostic enterprise data warehouse that manages multiple data sources and provides a single source-of-truth to produce key cost and quality reports, visualizations, and intelligence on demand. SymphonyCare’s integrated applications include EmpowerTM, a patient/provider portal and engagement suite and NavigateTM, an award-winning population management suite. Together, these sets of tools enable organizations to improve patient engagement and care quality in addition to clinical, financial and operational outcomes. For more information, please visit symphonycare.com.

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