David Quirke, Corporate CIO, Trivergent Health Alliance, Chapter 2

Across the industry, operating margins are getting slimmer while the demand to deliver high-quality care is increasing, leaving many organizations with no choice but to explore M&A. There is, however, another option. In 2014, three health systems joined to form Trivergent Health Alliance, an entity that enables them to maintain their identity as individual institutions while leveraging the purchasing power of big player. In this interview, David Quirke talks about how the concept came about, the pros and cons of being a “trusted advisor” to three organizations, and his biggest goals for 2017. He also discusses the work his team is doing in population health and patient engagement, and the benefits of having walked in different shoes before landing in the CIO role.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2



* 3 hospitals, 3 versions of Meditech

* NextGen, Allscripts & eClinicalWorks in ambulatory

* Trivergent as a “trusted advisor”

* Data sharing through CRISP

* “We see the core EHR being important, but not the end game.”

* Cybersecurity task force

* 2017 priority: “Staying true to the mission.”

* Benefits of “operating in different peoples’ shoes”



LISTEN NOW USING THE PLAYER BELOW OR CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR iTUNES PODCAST FEED

Bold Statements

The more alike we are and the more we do things the same, the more effective and efficient we could be. But Trivergent Health Alliance is a services organization. And as such, it can present opportunities and benefits to each one of the member health systems, but by no means does Trivergent drive the strategy or the decisions.

When we look at some of the new, exciting tools that are out there in the market for care management, we see the core EHR in the community as being important but not the end game. We really see the care management tools that are burgeoning either as part of an EMR or as a standalone system as being critically important.

We’re doing real world exercises with the leadership team of each organization in terms of, okay, if all of our best efforts fail, how would we react and how will we respond? Let’s go through an exercise where we plan and accommodate for an event like that.

I think something that continues to serve Trivergent well is paying attention to the changes and the ebbs and flows in the political environment, and really staying core to deploying systems that are focused on quality, that are focused on outcomes, and that are focused on our patients and our caregivers.

Gamble:  For the three partner hospitals, what is the picture as far as EHR systems being used?

Quirke:  At this point in time, all three member organizations have Meditech as the acute care EMR. They’re all on different versions. One of our organizations, Meritus Medical Center, is in the selection process to replace their current Magic solution. They’re at the final stages of making that decision. The three vendors that were considered were Epic, Cerner, and Meditech, and that will be a Meritus decision solely. In the ambulatory world, each organization runs either the NextGen EMR, Allscripts EMR or eClinicalWorks EMR. There’s a plethora of other systems, of course, that go behind the scenes.

Gamble:  Right. So there isn’t an expectation that the hospitals will be on the same system or even instance of an EMR?

Quirke:  I think it would be reasonable to assume that the more alike we are and the more we do things the same — be it workflows, be it formulary, or for that matter, EMR systems — the more effective and efficient we could be. But Trivergent Health Alliance is a services organization. And as such, it can present opportunities and benefits to each one of the membe...