HLTH: Transforming Healthcare with CAQH: Erin Weber and Don Rucker on Data Quality and Interoperability
A modern digital healthcare economy is impossible without a robust provider directory, which serves as the foundation for interoperability and crucial processes.
In this episode, Erin Weber, Chief Policy and Research Officer, discusses how CAQH supports provider directories, emphasizing the need for data accuracy and standardization through initiatives like universal group roster templates. She highlights the importance of interoperability and maintaining accurate data to ensure seamless care delivery and billing. Don Rucker, Chief Strategy Officer, talks about modern FHIR APIs and interoperability. He uses the analogy of domain name services on the internet and stresses the need for “computable interoperability” where data can be used in real time to improve care. They explain how the 21st Century Cures Act has impacted healthcare and how legacy systems need to be modernized. Don and Erin stress that this work is crucial for modern healthcare to evolve and deliver improved patient experiences.
Tune in and learn how these key changes are shaping the future of healthcare!
About Erin Weber:
Erin Richter Weber is a healthcare leader with 14 years at CAQH. She oversees CAQH CORE, advancing healthcare automation, and CAQH Insights, producing the annual Index report. Erin unites stakeholders to address industry challenges through data-driven innovation. Previously, she consulted for PwC and led research at the Advisory Board Company. She holds a Master’s from Harvard and a Bachelor’s from Cornell, making her a pivotal voice in healthcare standards and policy.
About Don Rucker:
Dr. Donald Rucker is the Chief Strategy Officer of 1upHealth and former National Coordinator for Health IT at HHS (2017–2021). He led the ONC’s 21st Century Cures Act Interoperability Rule, enabling secure patient access to health data via standardized FHIR APIs. A board-certified physician with clinical informatics expertise, he co-developed the first Windows-based electronic medical record. Dr. Rucker holds degrees from Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford, blending medicine, technology, and leadership.
Things You’ll Learn:
Provider data is the backbone of the healthcare system, powering everything from patient care to billing, and requires standardization to ensure accuracy.
The healthcare industry needs to learn from the internet and establish a system similar to domain name services to reduce friction.
Data quality is paramount for interoperability, requiring standardized definitions of data elements like location. To improve data, AI should be included.
AI can be used to standardize the multiple sources of provider data by merging them and enhancing the quality of that data.
The healthcare industry is behind other industries, and boldness comes from adopting solutions that have already been implemented elsewhere.
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