an $18 million Series B funding round for health data interoperability startup Diameter Health, which offers a suite of interoperability solutions for health plans, health information exchanges, and health IT vendors.
The fact that a major insurance company is pouring cash into a health data-sharing startup underscores how the convergence of the coronavirus pandemic and the CMS' Interoperability Rule has accelerated interoperability in healthcare: The CMS has been rolling out rule after rule to move healthcare stakeholders on improving interoperability. In April, it announced rules alongside the HHS for improving patient access to data via application program interfaces , establishing secure end-to-end API operating models, and increasing cost-related transparency for patients.
And the CMS' push is working: Payers are quickly carving out pathways to promote secure and seamless data exchange. In response to the CMS' rule, payers are required to offer their members clear access to plan data, facilitate payer-to-payer coordination, and enhance data exchange—but they have until mid-2021 before the CMS will these via penalties for not having complied.
Meanwhile, providers are implementing processes and tech to boost interoperability. For example, in October, health system Banner Health