Consensus Strives Toward Healthcare Interoperability With New Platform

Cloud services and technology company J2 Global has recently announced that it is splitting into two businesses. The new company, called Consensus, aims to provide health care workers with a cloud-based eFax business.

Consensus aims to provide interoperability-as-a-service with a focus on faxing in healthcare.  The dashboard provides organizations with digital cloud faxing, cloud fax phone number conversions, direct secure messaging through DirectTrust™, patient queries, connections to referral networks, and support of standards. Studies show that 89% of organizations use fax machines. With faxes already being a usual factor in workflow, Consensus looks to provide a modern solution for patient data. The company currently has about a 39% share of the online fax market.

Consensus aims to develop an end-to-end interoperability solution for the market it believes to be valued at $11 billion. The business is expected to have a revenue between $333 million and $342 million in 2021. Future Chief Executive Officer of Consensus Scott Turicchi stated that the free cash flow will be reinvested in mergers and acquisitions and increased capital expenditures. Consensus has invested $70 million into the development of its interoperability platform.

According to Consensus, the company will increase worker productivity, reduce costs, and deliver better patient care. Its single application is adaptable to a wide variety of health care facilities and will help to streamline patient data.

Future Chief Operating Officer of Consensus, John Nebergall stated, "We're coming into the interoperability market with the idea that fax is the most common way of sharing information. We're taking something that is already there, people are comfortable using, it's embedded in workflows and then we're building on top of it to create a paperless transaction that integrates with other forms of digital information."

Consensus will provide health care organizations with a single platform that addresses various patient data needs along with the cloud based faxing system. J2 and Consensus will streamline patient data and play a key role in healthcare interoperability as the industry continues its digital transformation efforts across the board.