Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI)
Research Areas
At a Glance
- Status: Active Consortium
- Year Launched: 1991
- Initiating Organization: Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI)
- Initiator Type: Government
- No disease focus
- Location: North America
Abstract
The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) is the leading authority on the use of health information technology (IT) to improve healthcare information exchange in order to enhance the quality of care, improve efficiency, and reduce costs of the American healthcare system. Formed in 1991 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), WEDI was named in the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) legislation as an advisor to HHS and continues to fulfill that role today. Serving as a private and public industry solution to critical healthcare problems, WEDI is a coalition composed of a cross-section of the healthcare industry: doctors, hospitals, health plans, laboratories, pharmacies, clearinghouses, dentists, vendors, government regulators, and other industry stakeholders.
Mission
WEDI is a private and public industry solution to critical healthcare problems. Its members join together with one thing in common — to make the American healthcare system more efficient. Its vision is to improve the quality of healthcare through effective and efficient information exchange and management.
WEDI brings together multiple stakeholders and drives industry consensus. Through an extensive workgroup structure, open public forums, Policy Advisory Groups (PAGs), and Technical Advisory Committees (TACs), WEDI collects input from all stakeholders and distills those thoughts into pinpoint recommendations for change. WEDI’s stakeholders represent solutions to today’s public and private business needs and interchange challenges. Together, they are laying the groundwork for the future of healthcare information exchange.
WEDI’s mission is to provide multi-stakeholder leadership and guidance to the nation’s healthcare system on how to use and leverage the industry’s collective technology, knowledge, expertise, and information resources to improve the administrative efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness of healthcare information.
Consortium History
Created by the HHS secretary in 1991 and named in the HIPAA legislation as an advisor to the HHS secretary, WEDI continues to be the source for information, education, and innovation in health IT for the leading health plans, providers, vendors, and government agencies.
Structure & Governance
WEDI is governed by a Board of Directors and contains many committees. For a full list of committees, see WEDI’s website at http://www.wedi.org/forms/committee/CommitteeFormPublic/search?action=find
WEDI is named in the HIPAA legislation as an advisor to the HHS secretary. In fulfilling that obligation, WEDI works through two vehicles to collect input from the industry in order to formulate an industry perspective on key issues, including PAGs and TACs.
PAGs are best thought of as a public forum where industry is able to review a proposed or final regulation and where the healthcare industry has an opportunity to collectively provide industry consensus and recommendations on a given policy. PAGs can be held both face-to-face or virtually. In a PAG, votes are registered and only one representative can vote per company. Although member and nonmembers can participate in the PAG, votes are restricted to WEDI members only.
The PAG facilitators (WEDI volunteers) then take the votes and comments and create a findings document that is reviewed by the WEDI Board of Director’s policy committee and voted upon by the full WEDI Board of Directors. Those recommendations are then sent on to the HHS secretary.
TACs are also public forums but are typically used to provide feedback to other organizations outside of HHS. TACs can be in-person or face-to-face, and votes are taken in the form of a straw poll.
The TAC facilitators (WEDI volunteers) then take the votes and comments and create a findings document that is reviewed by the WEDI Board of Director’s policy committee and voted upon by the full WEDI Board of Directors. Those recommendations are then sent on to the appropriate organization based on what was reviewed (e.g., a particular standard, operating rule).
Patient Engagement
The WEDI Report Patient Enablement sub-workgroup endeavors to enable patient engagement by developing and evaluating methods for identifying patients uniquely, creating and updating capabilities of electronic patient history and evidence of benefits, and improving patient access to, trust in, and usability of electronic healthcare data. The sub-workgroup will outline requirements for implementation and roles and responsibilities of healthcare stakeholders in facilitating change and implementation.
Data Sharing
The Health Information Exchange (HIE) Workgroup was formed to establish an HIE-based WEDI workgroup to address the unique requirements associated with the implementation and operational support of technical- and business-related activities under the governance of HIE organizations. Stakeholders include healthcare providers, HIE organizations, vendors, state government agencies, and regional nonprofits with responsibility for implementation of HIT-related healthcare reform (including the HIE Cooperative Agreement).
The HIE Workgroup intends to reach out to accountability care organization (ACO)/HIE governance bodies, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), health plans, and consumers. The goals of the HIE Workgroup include standardization and interoperability, security, privacy, medical record coding requirements, governance, and sustainability. The HIE Workgroup works closely with the Security & Privacy Workgroup as it relates to HIE privacy and security standards, protocols, practices, and related topics to closely coordinate activity related to overlapping HIE workgroup efforts.
Impact/Accomplishment
WEDI contains topic-based workgroups on the following topics: ACO-bundled payments, patient-matching identification, health records – management systems, health ID card, transactions – electronic data interchange, operating rules, privacy – security, cloud computing, mobile devices, HIEs, and International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10.
In December 2012, the WEDI Foundation leadership commissioned an update to the 1993 WEDI Report in order to provide an opportunity to evaluate progress on recommendations made in the earlier report, reflect on lessons learned, determine whether recommendations for administrative simplification made 20 years prior were still germane today, and identify immediate future needs. WEDI, in its HIPAA statutory role as advisor to the HHS secretary, could bring together healthcare stakeholders to address critical health IT implementation issues and provide guidance on HIE issues that were again confronting the nation. In short, the goal was for the WEDI Foundation (WEDI’s separate 501(c)(3) organization) and WEDI to help the healthcare industry further improve its information exchange processes in order to lower costs, improve healthcare delivery, and lead to better healthcare outcomes for patients.
Links/Social Media Feed
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Homepage |
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Points of Contact
1984 Isaac Newton Square, Suite 304
Reston, VA 20190
phone: 202-618-8792
fax: 202-684-7794
email: wedi@wedi.org
Sponsors & Partners
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(ISC)² |
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AAHAM |
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AAPC |
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Ability |
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ACAG Consulting L.L.C. |
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Accident Fund Insurance Company of America |
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AdminaStar Federal |
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ADP, LLC |
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Aetna |
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Affinity Health Plan |
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AHCCCS |
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AIDS Healthcare Foundation |
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AIM Healthcare Services, Inc. |
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Alameda Alliance for Health |
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Alliance Behavioral Healthcare |
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Allina Hospitals and Clinics |
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Alpha II, LLC |
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Altarum |
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American Dental Association |
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American Hospital Assn./HH&N |
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American Hospital Association |
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American Medical Association |
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American Medical News |
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American Society for Automation in Pharmacy |
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America’s Health Insurance Plans |
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AngMar Medical Holdings |
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Anthem BC of California |
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Anthem BCBS of Colorado |
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Anthem BCBS of Connecticut |
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Anthem BCBS of Indiana |
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Anthem BCBS of Kentucky |
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Anthem BCBS of Maine |
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Anthem BCBS of Missouri |
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Anthem BCBS of Nevada |
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Anthem BCBS of New Hampshire |
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Anthem BCBS of Ohio |
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Anthem BCBS of Virginia |
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Anthem BCBS of Wisconsin |
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Anthem BCBS |
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Apgar and Associates, LLC |
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APWU Health Plan |
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AR Department of Health & Human Services |
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Argus Health Systems, Inc. |
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Ark Blue Cross Blue Shield |
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Arkansas BCBS |
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athenahealth, Inc. |
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Availity, LLC |
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Axiom Systems Inc. |
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BCBS of Alabama |
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BCBS of Arizona |
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BCBS of Illinois |
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BCBS of Kansas |
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BCBS of Massachusetts |
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BCBS of Michigan |
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BCBS of Minnesota |
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BCBS of New Mexico |
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BCBS of North Carolina |
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BCBS of North Dakota |
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BCBS of Oklahoma |
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BCBS of South Carolina |
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BCBS of Tennessee |
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BCBS of Texas |
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Blue Care Network of Michigan |
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Blue Cross Blue Shield Association |
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana |
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Blue Cross of Northeastern PA |
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Blue Shield of CA |
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BMC Healthnet Plan |
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Bon Secours |
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Boost Payment Solutions, LLC |
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Boundary Information Group |
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California Health & Human Services |
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CalOptima |
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Calvet |
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Cambia Health Solutions |
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Capital Blue Cross |
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CAQH |
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CareFirst |
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CareMedic Systems, Inc. |
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CareMore Medical Enterprises |
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CareOregon |
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Cariten Healthcare |
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Catamaran |
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Centene Corporation |
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Centers for Disease Control & Prevention |
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services |
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CHCS Services, Inc. |
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Cherokee Nation |
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Chief Business Office Veterans Health Administration HIPAA Project Management Office |
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Christiana Care |
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Christiana Care Health System |
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CHRISTUS Health |
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CIGNA Government Services |
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CIGNA Health Care |
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CIGNA HealthCare of Arizona |
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CIGNA Voluntary |
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Citrix Systems, Inc. |
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ClaimRemedi |
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ClearDATA |
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CMS-Office of Enterprise Management |
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CNO Services LLC |
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Cognosante, LLC |
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Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing |
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Community Health Choice |
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Community Health Network of Connecticut |
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Community Health Systems |
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Commonwealth of PA Department of Public Welfare |
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Conexia |
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Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange |
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Cooperative Exchange |
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Cornichon Healthcare Select, LLC |
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Corphealth, Inc. |
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COUNTY OF DUNN - DUNN COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES |
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County of Los Angeles Department of Mental Health |
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Coventry Workers’ Comp Services |
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CSC Healthcare |
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CSC |
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DaVita |
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Defense Health Agency |
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DELL Services |
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Delta Dental of Arkansas |
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Delta Dental of California |
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Delta Dental of Colorado |
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Delta Dental of Idaho |
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Delta Dental of Iowa |
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Delta Dental of Kentucky |
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Delta Dental of Michigan |
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Delta Dental of New Jersey |
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Delta Dental of New Mexico |
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Delta Dental of Oklahoma |
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Delta Dental of Rhode Island |
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Delta Dental of Virginia |
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Delta Dental of Wisconsin |
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Delta Dental Plans Association |
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Department of Vermont Health Access |
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Department of Veterans Affairs |
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Dept of Health Care Services - Ofc of HIPAA Compliance |
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District of Columbia Department of Health Care Finance |
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DoD Health Affairs |
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DST Health Care |
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Edifecs |
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eHealth Ohio |
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EHG-DentalXChange |
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EHNAC |
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Eldorado Computing, Inc. |
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EmblemHealth |
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Emdeon Business Services |
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Emdeon Corporation |
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EMEDIX Reimbursement Solutions |
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Emerging Health Information Technologies |
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Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield |
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Epic |
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Excellus BCBS |
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Express Scripts, Inc. |
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Fallon Community Health Plan |
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Federation of American Hospitals |
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First Choice Health |
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First Pacific Corporation |
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Florida Agency for Health Care Administration |
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Florida Blue |
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Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation |
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Florida Medicaid |
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Food and Drug Administration |
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Fortinet |
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GEHA |
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Geisinger Health Plan |
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Geisinger Health System |
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Gillette Childrens Specialty Healthcare |
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Greater New York Hospital Association |
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Great-West Healthcare |
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Greenway Clearinghouse |
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Group Health Incorporated |
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Harvard Pilgrim Health Care |
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Hawaii Medical Service Assoc. |
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Health & Human Services Agency - OHii |
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Health Care Service Corporation |
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Health Information Exchange Office |
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Health Language |
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Health Net of California |
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Health Net, Inc. |
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Healthaxis |
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Healthcare Billing & Management Association |
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Healthcare Extranets LLC |
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HealthCare Information Management, Inc. |
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Healthcare Management Administrators |
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HealthPartners |
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HealthPlus of Michigan |
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Healthtrio |
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Hewlett Packard |
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HHS Office for Civil Rights |
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Highmark BC/BS |
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Highmark Health Services |
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Highmark Medicare Services |
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HighPoint Solutions |
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Hillsborough County |
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HIMSS |
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HIPAA COW |
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Horizon BCBSNJ |
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HP Enterprise Services |
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HTMS |
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Humana, Inc. |
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IBM Global Business Services |
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IBM Security Services |
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IBM |
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IBM/Genelco |
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Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services |
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IN Office Medicaid Policy & Planning |
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Independent Health |
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Indian Health Service |
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Indiana State Dept. of Health |
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inMediata |
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InstaMed Communications |
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Inter Valley Health Plan |
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Intermountain Healthcare |
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Intracorp |
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Iowa Medicaid Enterprise |
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Johns Hopkins Health System |
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Johns Hopkins Healthcare/EHP |
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Johns Hopkins Information Technology |
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Johns Hopkins University |
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Jopari Solutions |
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Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio |
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Kaiser Foundation Health Plan |
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Kaiser Permanente |
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Kansas DCHS |
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Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services |
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Kunz, Leigh & Associates |
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L.A. Care Health Plan |
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LabCorp |
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Lantana Consulting Group |
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Liberty Medical Supply, Inc. |
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Los Angeles County, Department of Mental Health |
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Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals |
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Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals/Office of Mental Health |
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MAHP |
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Maricom Systems Inc. |
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Marshfield Clinic |
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Maryland Health Benefit Exchange |
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Maryland Health Care Commission |
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Maryland Medical Care Programs |
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MassHealth |
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MasterCard |
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Mayo Clinic |
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Med USA |
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Medica Health Plan |
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Medical Group Management Association |
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Medical Mutual of Ohio |
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Medical Services Administration of Puerto Rico |
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Medicity, Inc. |
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MedImpact Healthcare Systems |
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Memorial Sloan-Kettering |
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Mercy Health Plans |
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Mercy Health System |
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MercyCare |
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MGMA Connexion |
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Michigan Department of Community Health |
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Michigan Public Health Institute |
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Minnesota Department of Health |
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Minnesota Department of Human Services Legal Management Office |
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Minnesota Department of Human Services |
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Minnesota Dept. of Labor & Industry |
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Missouri Department of Mental Health |
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Missouri Office of Administration- ITSD |
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Mitchell & McCormick, Inc. |
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Mitchell International, Inc. |
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MITRE Corp |
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MO HealthNet Division |
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Moda Health Plan, Inc. |
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Montefiore Medical Center |
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Moserhaus Consulting, LLC |
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Mphasis Ltd. |
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MVP Health Care |
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NAACOS |
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NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association |
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NALC Health Benefit Plan |
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NAMM California |
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NASCO |
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National Council for Prescription Drug Programs |
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National Government Services |
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Navicure, Inc. |
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NC DHHS/DIRM |
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NC DHHS-OMMISS |
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NC Division of Medical Assistance |
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NC Division of Public Health |
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Nebo Systems, Inc. |
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Nebraska Health & Human Services System |
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Nebraska Medicaid |
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Neocore Partners, LLC |
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Network Health, Inc. |
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Nevada County Behavioral Health |
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Nevada Medicaid |
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New Mexico Human Services Department |
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New York State Cancer Registry |
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New York State Medicaid |
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NextGen Healthcare |
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Noblis |
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Noridian Administrative Services, LLC |
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Noridian Mutual, Inc. |
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North Carolina Dept. of Health & Human Services |
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North Dakota Department of Human Services-Information Technology Services, Medicaid Systems Operations |
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Northeast Delta Dental |
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Office of Health Information Integrity |
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Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation |
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Ohio Department of Medicaid |
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Ohio Dept. of Job & Family Services |
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Oklahoma Health Care Authority |
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ONC |
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OneHealthPort |
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Optimity Advisors |
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Optum |
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OptumHealth |
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OptumHealth Financial Services |
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OptumHealth Specialty Benefits |
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Oracle |
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Oregon Health Authority |
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Orlando Health, Inc. |
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OSHPD |
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Oxford Health Plans |
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PacifiCare |
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Passport Health |
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Passport Health Communications |
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Peninsula Regional Support Network |
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Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare |
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Phreesia |
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Physicians Health Plan of Northern Indiana |
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Plexis Healthcare Systems, Inc. |
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PNC Bank |
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PNC Expack Network Services |
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Post-n-Track Corporation |
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ppoONE |
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Practice Fusion, Inc. |
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Practice Insight, LLC |
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Precyse Solutions |
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Premera Blue Cross |
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Presbyterian Health Services |
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PrimeWest Health |
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PriorityHealth |
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Proje Inc. |
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Providence Health and Services |
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Providence Health System |
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Pulse Systems Inc. |
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PwC |
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QCSI |
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QuadraMed Corporation |
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Qualis Health |
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Radiology Business Management Association |
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RealMed, an Availity Company |
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Regence BCBS of Oregon |
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Regence BCBS of Utah |
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Regence Blue Shield of Idaho |
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Regence Blue Shield of Washington |
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RemitDATA |
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Resolution Health, Inc. |
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San Francisco Health Plan |
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Schaller Anderson of Arizona |
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Secure Exchange Solutions |
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Select Health |
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Sharp Healthcare |
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Siemens Healthcare |
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Smart Data Solutions |
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Social Security Administration |
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Society of Professional Benefit Administrators |
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South Carolina DHHS |
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Southwest Life and Health |
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Spectrum Health |
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State Farm Insurance |
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State of Alaska |
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State of California Department of Health Care Services |
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State of California, DHS |
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State of Colorado |
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State of Idaho Department of Health and Welfare |
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State of Nevada, Division of Health Care Financing & Policy |
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State of Oregon, Workers Compensation Division |
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State of Washington Department of Social & Health Services |
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Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration |
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Sutter Physician Services |
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Tacoma Fire Department |
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Tampa General Hospital |
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TASCET |
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Tenet Healthcare Corporation |
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Tesia Clearinghouse |
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Texas Department of Insurance |
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Texas Health and Human Services Commission |
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Texas Health Resources |
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Texas HHSC |
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The Federal Employee Program Operations Center |
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The Most Group, Inc. |
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TIBCO Software, Inc. |
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TM Floyd & Company |
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TMG Health Inc. |
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TMHP |
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Tompkins County Mental Health Services |
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Transunion Healthcare |
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TRICARE Management Activity |
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TriZetto Corporation |
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Tufts Health Plan |
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UniCare |
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United Concordia |
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United Medical Resources, Inc. a division of UnitedHealth Group |
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UnitedHealth Group |
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UnitedHealth Technologies |
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UnitedHealthcare |
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University of Maryland Faculty Physicians Inc. |
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University of Oklahoma |
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Upper Peninsula Health Plan |
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US Dept. of HHS, Nat’l Health Info. Infrastructure |
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UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
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Utah Health Information Network |
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Utah Medicaid |
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Utah Retirement Systems |
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Utah Retirement Systems/PEHP |
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UW Medicine |
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UW Physicians |
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VA Financial Services Center |
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VA Health Administration Center |
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Vanguard Health Systems |
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Verizon Information Technologies |
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Verizon Information Technologies, Inc. |
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VHA Chief Business Office |
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Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services |
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Virginia DMAS |
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WA Department of Labor and Industries |
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Washington Dental Service |
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Washington University Medical School |
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Waukesha County Department of Health and Human Services |
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Webify Solutions, Inc. |
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WellCare Health Plans, Inc. |
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Wellmark BCBS of South Dakota |
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Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield |
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Wellmark BlueCross BlueShield of Iowa |
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WellPoint Inc. |
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WEX Inc. |
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Wheatlands Administrative Services |
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Wisconsin Medicaid |
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Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange |
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WPS Insurance |
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XIFIN |
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ZirMed, Inc. |