Health Gorilla, a Qualified Health Information Network™ (QHIN™) and interoperability solution provider, announced a new collaboration with Unblock Health, a master key of patient access solutions designed to give patients a competitive advantage against their health conditions. Unblock Health will participate in Health Gorilla’s QHIN to enable patients to retrieve their personal health records under the Individual Access Services (IAS) purpose of use.

As a QHIN, Health Gorilla supports data exchange for multiple purposes of use, including Treatment, Payment, Health Care Operations, Public Health, Government Benefits Determination, and IAS. Health Gorilla provides the technology and network solutions required for organizations to submit IAS queries to its QHIN under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement℠ (TEFCA℠).

Unblock Health provides a suite of patient-focused solutions designed to reduce Patient Administrative Burden (PAB), or the work that patients and their families need to do to get the care they need. Unblock Health is collaborating with Health Gorilla on IAS solutions to ensure that patients can seamlessly and securely access their data from a vast network of participating hospitals and clinics. Patients using Unblock Health can verify their identity based on IAL2 standards using CLEAR, query Health Gorilla’s national network, and securely retrieve and store their health records. This collaboration marks a significant step towards empowering patients in their healthcare journey by providing them with easy access to their personal health information.

“One of our primary goals of becoming a QHIN was to unlock additional exchange purposes, particularly Individual Access Services, to enable patients to finally access their own data through a national network,” said Steve Yaskin, CEO & Co-founder of Health Gorilla. “We are proud to collaborate with Grace and the Unblock Health team, who have proven a relentless commitment to empowering patients through access to their health data. With TEFCA IAS now a reality, patients and caregivers have a new path to access data to inform and support their care.”

“While many have taken the stance of not prioritizing IAS, “no” was not an option for the team at Unblock Health. It was exhilarating to facilitate some of the first IAS transactions on TEFCA. This is a pivotal moment to make our mission a reality and enable patients to access and control their data,” said Grace Cordovano, Co-founder of Unblock Health. “Through the power of the Health Gorilla and Unblock Health partnership, our users can securely validate their identity, query participants in the new TEFCA framework, and combine and store their health records from different institutions. Unblock Health is designed for patient advocates, patient navigators, as well as caregivers, and care partners of patients too. This partnership is really about breaking down barriers that have traditionally hindered patient access, especially in life-altering, life-limiting situations and emergencies. We aren’t just dreaming about a future where patients are the center of healthcare delivery, we’re at the forefront laying the pavers as we speak.”